The Duchess of Sussex, Patron of Smart Works, in the workroom of the Smart Works London office. (Photo by @SussexRoyal/Kensington Palace via Getty Images)
The Duchess of Sussex, Patron of Smart Works, in the workroom of the Smart Works London office. (Photo by @SussexRoyal/Kensington Palace via Getty Images)
The Duchess of Sussex, Patron of Smart Works, in the workroom of the Smart Works London office. (Photo by @SussexRoyal/Kensington Palace via Getty Images)
The Duchess of Sussex, Patron of Smart Works, in the workroom of the Smart Works London office. (Photo by @SussexRoyal/Kensington Palace via Getty Images)

Meghan Markle's clothing collection will help unemployed women


Sophie Prideaux
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Meghan Markle is set to take her first steps into the fashion world with the launch of a women’s work wear capsule collection.

The Duchess of Sussex will work alongside British brands Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Jigsaw, and designer Misha Nonoo, who happens to be a close friend of Meghan's.

The Duchess of Sussex visits the Smart Works career centre in West London. AP Photo
The Duchess of Sussex visits the Smart Works career centre in West London. AP Photo

The clothing line is being created to support the charity Smart Works, which helps women back into employment by giving them coaching on interview skills and help with their CVs, as well as providing them with interview clothes.

Meghan, who is the royal patron of Smart Works, visited the charity in January to meet with some of the women they help, when she was five months pregnant with son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born on May 6.

The news was revealed in the September issue of British Vogue, which was guest edited by the Duchess. "When you walk into a Smart Works space you're met with racks of clothing and an array of bags and shoes," Meghan writes in Vogue. "Sometimes, however, it can be a potpourri of mismatched sizes and colors, not always the right stylistic choices or range of sizes."

She added: “Many of the brands agreed to use the one-for-one model: for each item purchased by a customer, one is donated to the charity. Not only does this allow us to be part of each other’s story, it reminds us we are in it together.”

The range is expected to be available later this year.