What's Driving Meghan Markle's Latest 'Very Conscious' Reinvention

Meghan Markle made quite a splash at her very first Paris Fashion Week appearance in early October. Looking chic in a silky white top with matching trousers and a dramatic cape, the Duchess of Sussex sat front row at Balenciaga’s Spring/Summer 2026 runway show and mingled with members of the fashion elite, including famed former Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and Balenciaga’s new creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, who custom-designed her outfit. “Meghan was excited [for her] Paris Fashion Week debut,” an insider tells Us Weekly. “She was looking forward to the moment. It’s a big statement about where she’s headed.”

The Suits alum has been steadily embracing the spotlight more and more in recent months. She launched her Netflix series With Love, Meghan in March and her As Ever lifestyle brand in April, and now she’s clearly looking to enter the world of high fashion. (Piccioli revealed in an interview with The Cut that he and Meghan stayed in touch after meeting several years ago and that she reached out to him about attending his first show with Balenciaga.) She was also spotted having drinks with Chloe Malle, the new editor in chief of Vogue, in NYC on October 10, and the Daily Mail reports she’ll soon be on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar.

Over on the girl-boss front, she spoke at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit on October 14 and attended a vegan dinner party thrown by buzzy British entrepreneur Emma Grede (cofounder of Skims and Good American) in L.A. the next day. “Meghan didn’t want to just stay [put] in Montecito, and now has more time to do other things,” says a second insider. “She wants to get out there, reach out to people and work on her relationships.”

According to insiders and industry experts, Meghan, 44, is now deliberately repositioning herself as a power player separate from her husband, Prince Harry, 41. While the couple — who accepted the Humanitarians of the Year award at the Project Healthy Minds gala in NYC on Oct. 9 together — remain connected on many causes, she’s rebranding as a one-woman show. “This is the first time we’re seeing Meghan as an individual brand again,” says public relations expert Jane Owen. “It’s a shift toward individuality.” Adds PR expert Mark Borkowski: “Meghan is no longer half of a royal duo. She’s re-emerging as a solo brand: global, aspirational and strategically aloof. The royal chapter was about proximity to power. This one’s about reclaiming it.”

It could be a mutually beneficial move for Meghan and Harry, who are parents to son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, 4. “It’s healthy for them as a couple to have separate spheres, identities and passion projects,” says the first insider, noting that the “negative attention” Meghan receives in the press “hasn’t been helpful for Harry’s work.” Aside from a few joint projects, “they will be very [professionally] divided now,” adds the insider. “It’s what they have been doing all year.”

Harry has no issue letting Meghan take center stage. “He seems happier doing the quieter, cause-driven work,” says Owen. “They’re still a team, but they’re playing to their own strengths now.” Adds royal commentator Amanda Matta: “It’s clear that [Meghan’s career] is moving forward with a sharper public profile [but] they both know how to share the spotlight when it serves their shared goals.”

The second insider says Meghan has Harry’s full support: “He always thinks she’s making the right moves.” The first insider agrees that Harry is thrilled his wife has found “something she can sink her teeth into. It’s what she successfully did before him, and he believes in the saying, ‘Happy wife, happy life.’ He’s happy not to be involved in that world.”

Indeed, Harry seems most at home when he’s focused on his philanthropic causes. “He thrives when he’s [working] with charities, especially the military and kids,” notes royal historian Marlene Koenig. “And he has every reason to be proud of the Invictus [Games’] success. This is where he shines… the reality is this is an extension of what he did as a working royal and the life he knows.”

As Meghan leans into her celebrity lifestyle brand — and distances herself from the royal role she briefly inhabited alongside Harry — it may become more difficult for the pair to win back favor in the duke’s native England. Though he remains estranged from his brother, Prince William, 43, Harry has made some progress with his father, King Charles. (Charles, 76, is in treatment for cancer; the father and son had their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months on September 10, when Harry stopped by Clarence House while in the U.K. on a four-day work trip.) “In the royal world, titles, rules and restrained symbolism really matter,” explains Matta. “When you swap those for flashy brand deals [and] appearances and contracts, you’re signaling a different kind of ambition. ”

As Harry and Meghan go more Hollywood, Matta says they could soon find themselves “too far removed, both culturally and operationally, from what people like William and Charles can accept in those they associate with.” Plus, she notes, it also becomes harder for the British public “to relate to them as royals rather than entertainers.”

As for Meghan’s continued use of her royal title — in an Instagram reel she posted on October 15, she showed off a monogrammed bag reading “DS” for Duchess of Sussex — Matta says the Palace must “[look] down on Meghan [for] continuing to use [it] so openly.” But ultimately, she notes that Meghan is simply doing what other titled women have always done: using her name professionally. “Using one’s title outside of the traditional scope of royal duties isn’t unusual or improper at all,” she adds, pointing out that historically, titles “have never been tied to the number of engagements someone does or their proximity to palace life.”

She’s been criticized for repeatedly rebranding — and for putting a positive spin on professional setbacks. In August, Meghan and Harry’s $100 million Netflix deal was extended but downgraded to a first-look deal; at Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit, she called the new agreement “an incredible sign of the strength of our partnership” and likened it to a deal Barack and Michelle Obama previously made with the streaming giant through production company, Higher Ground.

The duchess also remained vague about the future of With Love, Meghan, which scored low ratings in its second season. A source tells Us that there have been “no talks of a season 3” on Netflix and that the show is done. (Meghan, however, did reveal at the Fortune summit that the show’s holiday special is coming out in November. “It’s a really good one,” she teased.) The source also notes that while the Sussexes do have the first-look deal, “right now, there are no plans in place for anything creative upcoming but the conversations are ongoing and fluid.”

Still, some industry experts insist she’s finally figured out her sweet spot. “Meghan’s hitting her stride when it comes to her public persona after palace life,” says Matta. The duchess herself said she’s “the happiest I’ve ever been” in an interview at the Time100 Summit in April, and announced that she was entering her “chapter of joy” in September 2024.

According to Borkowski, Meghan has swapped the “duty-bound duchess palette for a cooler, West Coast gloss: the Vogue salons, the couture cameos, the soft-focus humanitarianism — all signals that she’s positioning herself in the rarefied Gwyneth [Paltrow] and [Victoria] Beckham tier of conscious luxury.” Adds the first insider: “This has been a very conscious move… Meghan is opening herself to the universe of brands and marketing, signaling to the world, ‘I’m open for business and ready to make money in the lifestyle sector.’ [She wants to] emulate Gwyneth. She doesn’t necessarily need TV shows and the criticism that comes with them.”

U.K. brand and culture expert Nick Ede echoes that sentiment, telling Us that Meghan is “in pure celebrity mode [and] is establishing a presence that will lead to partnerships and deals… someone who [can be] courted by brands.” Ede says Meghan’s attendance at the Balenciaga show “made a [worldwide] impact,” and that by appearing in the front row, “she’s establishing herself with… a crowd she wants to be a part of.” (Meghan hinted at dipping her toes into fashion in May, telling Fast Company that the category “is something I will explore at a later date because I do think that’s an interesting space for me.”)

However, Ede warns that she could potentially alienate some brand supporters if she continues to align herself with luxury fashion houses. “Affordable but aspirational… feels much more Meghan,” he explains. “Early on, her style leaned toward classic, conservative brands that fit her royal role,” counters Owen. “Now she’s embracing labels that represent freedom and individuality. It’s a clear message: She’s not bound by the rules anymore.”

Whatever her message, it’s crucial that she sticks with it, says publicity expert and PR coach Natalie Trice. “Meghan’s making it clear she’s here to lead conversations, but we have been here before. Consistency is everything, so if she’s jumping between messages or personas, it dilutes the impact and leaves people wondering if it’s another try at something, but is it her thing? Her true purpose?”

Owen believes that those who admire the Suits alum will see this latest reinvention as Meghan “stepping into her power. But those who loved the ‘down-to-earth duchess’ might feel disconnected. The key for her will be staying authentic.” It remains to be seen whether her foray into the high-fashion, luxury space will have legs and if long-time fans will follow her. “It could go either way,” says Trice. “The world wants the real Meghan, whoever that may be.”

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