After five years of carefully managing her public image from the comfort of Montecito, California, Meghan Markle appears to be very purposefully re-entering the limelight over the past few months.
And with a new era comes a whole new look.
Her rebrand, dubbed “Meghan Markle 3.0”, has taken many by surprise. After months of watching Markle cosplay Martha Stewart in her lifestyle-cum-home cooking show, With Love, Meghan, where she cooks and prepares gift baskets for her various famous friends, Markle seems to have ditched her coastal grandmother aesthetic for a much more chic, refined style.
This became evident at Paris Fashion Week, where the Duchess of Sussex dropped jaws left, right and centre as she made a surprise appearance for Pierpaolo Piccioli’s Balenciaga debut, looking awfully Gwyneth Paltrow-esque.
Next, she was seen carefully managing Prince Harry as the pair arrived in New York to accept an award as “Humanitarians of the Year”. For the occasion, Markle wore a plunging black Armani power suit and statement gold chain necklace by Anine Bing, with her hair in a tousled ponytail.
In another surprising turn, it’s being reported that Markle is to return to acting and will play herself in Close Personal Friends alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid. She has been spotted on set in Pasadena.
It is now being reported that the Sussexes are planning yet another “relaunch”. But why is the Duchess of Sussex suddenly returning to celebrity life now, and what is the intention behind this new pivot?
High-profile engagements and behind-the-scenes movements
In October, Meghan gave a lecture on life as a “high-profile business founder” during an appearance at Fortune's Most Powerful Women summit in Washington DC.
In between her string of high-profile engagements were some very key private meetings — and some very classically ‘celebby’ movements. It was reported that back in New York, Markle held meetings with Chloe Malle, the new editor of US Vogue, and Gloria Steinem, the legendary activist and longtime Megxit supporter. While not manoeuvring, the Sussexes were spotted heading out for a slap-up lunch at Soho House with close personal friend Serena Williams. All very A-list.
Meanwhile, other reports suggest that Markle is looking to expand her lifestyle brand, As Ever, into markets which could include beauty, homeware and fashion. She’s already ventured into wine, having recently launched her own Sauvignon Blanc. So, could a Goop-esque empire be within her sights?
A purposeful pivot in Paris
Even the most royal-ignorant would have picked up on a vibe switch from the Duchess of Sussex during her time at Paris Fashion Week.
For the Balenciaga show, Markle arrived wearing a pair of wide-leg trousers and a matching blazer made by the brand, complete with a wraparound shawl that descended into a slight train. The look had all the hallmarks of a classic Markle outfit —neutral tones, a modest silhouette — yet it was a noticeable departure from type. Her Balenciaga outfit was dramatic, dignified and considerably more “fashion” than some of her more former-royal-friendly outfits. Her beauty look too was more elegant, considered and clearly strategic.
Meghan’s arrival at Balenciaga may have come as a surprise to some — why Balenciaga? Why now? — but it was easily explained away. The duchess is widely reported to be a friend of Pierpaolo Piccioli and was a fan of his work at Valentino; he presumably extended an invitation. Not so.
Asking to attend Balenciaga herself
Markle has far deeper alliances with other brands and designers. She has previously attended Givenchy and Tory Burch shows and is known to favour designers like Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren and Stella McCartney. McCartney was also showing at Paris Fashion Week, while Givenchy had one of the only high-profile creative director debuts by a woman this season.
What made things even more curious was the revelation that Markle was not invited, but instead asked to attend the event herself.
Speaking to The Cut, Pierpaolo Piccioli said, “Meghan and I met some years ago, and we’ve been texting ever since. She reached out and said she’d love to come to the show.
“There was no strategy or big orchestration. I didn’t tell anyone she was coming because I wanted it to stay a surprise. In fashion, real surprises are rare, and this one was beautiful.”
Back in her female founder era
Markle addressed last month’s Fortune Most Powerful Women summit in Washington DC, tackling the topic of being a “high-profile business founder”.
If this feels oddly familiar, that’s because she’s already been through a “female founder” era, much to fans’ and critics’ disdain.
Before the crafty, homebody-type Meghan of 2025, came the entrepreneurial Meghan of 2022, with her highly divisive Archetypes podcast, which focused on powerful women and the stereotypes levelled against them. The podcast was a result of Archewell Audio’s exclusive $20m deal with Spotify to produce “uplifting” audio projects.
Guests on Archetypes — including Serena Williams, Mindy Kaling and Mariah Carey — would engage in conversations with Meghan in episodes with titles like “Beyond the Archetype: Human, Being” and “The Audacity of the Activist”.
In June 2023, Spotify and Archewell released an official joint statement saying they were “proud of the series we made together” but had ultimately “mutually agreed to part ways.”
After the split, details emerged that made things seem a little less mutual. Spotify executive Bill Simmons called Meghan and Prince Harry “grifters” on his own podcast, while a spokesperson for Markle said she was “continuing to develop more content for the Archetypes audience on another platform.”
‘Next level influence’
Now, two years later, Markle appears to be pivoting back towards her female founder era. It could be driven by the relative success of her new lifestyle brand, As Ever, with products selling out almost immediately after being put on sale. However, some experts have accused As Ever’s super-fast sales of being part of a PR strategy, with small product runs that appear to sell out but don’t actually amount to huge sales.
During her Fortune talk, Markle discussed life as the founder of As Ever, her new products and “navigating entrepreneurship in the public eye and building a brand that will endure.” The chat, entitled Next Level Influence, covered how Meghan plans to build a “successful, long-lasting business empire”. (As Ever has existed since 2024). She spoke about harnessing the power of social media — “Look, I have had a very complicated relationship with social media, as you can probably imagine,” Meghan said. “[But] I also recognize the role that it plays in business.”
She also managed to spin their new downgraded Netflix deal as a win, saying: “My husband and I were in an overall deal with Netflix; then, not dissimilar to Higher Ground and the Obamas’ deal, once that had come to its term, the extension of it — which was such an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership — was now being in a first-look deal,” the Duchess of Sussex said. “Which is also exciting because it gives us flexibility to go to our partners first, then at the same time, shop content that might not be the right fit for Netflix but has a home somewhere else.”
Given Markle’s new look, public engagements, and private business manoeuvres, it seems the duchess may fancy herself a new role: stylist female founder, a la Gwyneth Paltrow or Mary Kate and Ashley. But the proof well and truly lies in the pudding. And we’re still yet to see if it has risen.
