How Meghan Markle inspired increased interest in British fashion brands
Items have already been renamed in her honour
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement, it was the hottest topic on everyone’s lips.
The ring, the coat, the feminist causes - the world cannot get enough of Markle.
And new figures reveal just quite how taken with the soon-to-be Princess Henry of Wales we all are.
According to data from Hitwise, one in every 227 searches online was for “Meghan Markle” on the day the news of her engagement broke (Monday 27th).
And across the week as a whole, searches for Prince Harry’s fiancée were up over 2700 per cent.
Much like we saw the ‘Kate effect’ when the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge became engaged, and the ‘Prince George effect,’ with everything the royals wear selling out, the ‘Meghan effect’ appears to be in full swing.
Everything Markle says, does and wears is likely to receive a boost across the world.
In the US, where royal interest is reaching fever pitch, data shows there has been a huge surge of interest in British designers.
People who search for Meghan Markle in the US before visiting the website of Hunter boots has grown by 6,199 per cent, Roland Mouret has grown by 780 per cent, and Jo Malone’s site has grown by 50 per cent.
And in the UK, many Brits are equally as enraptured by Markle and her fashion choices.
Searches for the luxury Strathberry bag she used during her first official engagement in Nottingham increased 2,044 per cent, with stock reportedly selling out in eleven minutes.
Strathberry is a Scottish company headed up by Leeanne and Guy Hundleby, who, on a whim, decided to send Markle a selection of handbags a fortnight ago (before the engagement announcement was made).
The bag is a tri-colour leather midi tote costing £495, and the designers have been propelled into a new league.
The coat Markle wore for her engagement announcement was designed by Canadian brand Line the Label, and it duly sold out too.
Now the brand has announced it is renaming the coat the Meghan in her honour.
The same went for the £489 bottle green dress by unknown Italian label P.A.R.O.S.H. that Markle wore for her engagement interview - it sold out and has been renamed for her.
And it’s not just in fashion that the Meghan effect is taking hold: data shows that following an appearance on Dave’s Britishisms where she claimed Vegemite to be superior to Marmite, the former has seen a 104 per cent increase in searches around the product, with Marmite dropping 22 per cent.
The reach of the Meghan effect knows no bounds.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments