Meghan Markle quietly attended her first Fashion Week show in years, taking a front-row seat at Balenciaga’s Saturday, October 4, exhibition in Paris.
A spokesperson for Meghan, 44, told Hello! that the Duchess of Sussex attended the show “in support of Pierpaolo Piccioli, who recently assumed the role of Creative Director” for the brand.
“Over the years, the Duchess has worn a number of designs by Pierpaolo. They have worked closely together collaborating on design for key moments on the world stage,” the rep added in a statement. “She has long admired his craftsmanship and modern elegance, and tonight was no different.”
Meghan wore a chic, winter-white pantsuit with a matching cape. Her look was completed with a pair of black pumps, and she wore her hair fastened in a slicked-back bun.
“This evening reflects the culmination of many years of artistry and friendship, reflected in her support for his new creative chapter at Balenciaga,” her rep continued.
The As Ever founder teased her ensemble in a Saturday post via her Instagram Stories, in which she walked down a marble hallway. Meghan set her post to Vitaa and Julian Doré’s “Viens on essaie.”
Saturday’s show was Piccioli’s first as the creative director of Balenciaga. The former Valentino designer was appointed this summer.
“This is a new moment for fashion, and you can change the rules only from the inside. I think we can deliver a new image of fashion that is about assertiveness, humanity and intelligence, which is not granted very often,” Piccioli, who succeeds Demna, told Vogue in May. “Balenciaga already exists in a community. I want to embrace that community and the spirit of Balenciaga, to make my own chapter in the same story.”
He added, “I want to embrace the past, because I feel that it’s very important to have respect for what Nicolas [Ghesquière] and Demna did before me. The story of Balenciaga is a story of designers that I respect.”
As for Meghan, she had never previously attended a Paris Fashion Week runway show before Saturday, though she often attended Toronto and New York iterations when she was a working actress. Meghan stepped back from her acting roles after marrying Prince Harry in 2018.
Meghan and Harry, 41, later moved from England to her native California in 2020 after they stepped down from their duties as senior working royals. At the time, Meghan started switching up her style.
“Times where I know there is a global spotlight, and attention will be given to each detail of what I may or may not be wearing, then I support designers that I have really great friendships with,” Meghan told The New York Times in an August 2024 profile, highlighting the important of working with smaller brands “that haven’t gotten the attention that they should be getting.”
She added, “That’s one of the most powerful things that I’m able to do, and that’s simply wearing, like, an earring.”
Meghan further pointed out that she often discovers designers by online shopping herself.
“I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands,” she explained. “When people are online looking for things or reading things, I’m trying to find great new designers, especially in different territories.”
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