Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Meghan, Prince Harry, fashion, royal family

As she steps away from official duties, how Meghan changed the face of royal fashion

The Duchess of Sussex has kicked off her last round of royal duties in an outfit that’s classic for her style: bright, sleek and modern.

Meghan wore a stand-out blue midi dress from friend Victoria Beckham’s label to attend the annual Endeavour Fund Awards on Thursday night.

After the shock news in January that Harry and Meghan would be stepping away from royal duties to pursue financial independence, this weekend the couple will complete the last of their official engagements before returning to their new home in Canada.

Since announcing her engagement to Harry in November 2017, Meghan’s fashion choices have consistently been modern and cutting edge. While her style did slightly shift to fit in with the strictures of being a royal, she managed to maintain her unique fashion sense and bring something entirely new to the family.

Even though Meghan is now stepping away from official duties, she has permanently shifted how we see royal fashion.

She broke away from the norms

With so many rules and regulations to follow, royal style can seem homogeneous. Meghan managed to bring her own distinct fashion sense to her time in the spotlight, being subversive with her choices but still respectful.

She wore cuts and colours we’re not used to royals wearing – such as the fashion-forward purple and red colour clashing outfit, or her love of boat necklines (when the neck runs straight across the collarbone).

The Duchess also brought a breath of fresh air to stereotypically stuffy royal dressing, in lots of denim and power suits.

She championed a new class of designers

While the royal family tends to stick to English heritage designers and established fashion houses, Meghan introduced a whole new range of designers with her diverse and interesting wardrobe.

As an American, she often wore labels from her home country. This could be a new wave of designers like Brandon Maxwell, or classic labels like Ralph Lauren.

The Duchess of Cambridge is well documented for paying tribute to the country she visits in her fashion, most often by wearing the national colour.

She took things a step further in her royal trips, often choosing outfits by local designers. Last year she kicked off her royal tour to various African countries in a monochrome wrap dress by Mayamiko, a brand inspired by African artisanal traditions and is handmade in Malawi.

She brought a focus to sustainable fashion

Sustainable fashion is still struggling to shake it’s uncool reputation, and while few royals can claim to be hugely sustainable – the sheer amount of events they attend requires many new outfits – Meghan brought a fresh focus to eco-friendly style.

The Duchess constantly championed sustainable brands, for example in cult vegan trainers Veja during the royal tour of Australia. She also repeatedly wore a pair of black jeans from brand Outland, which sources ethical and environmentally friendly denim. It’s in-keeping with the Duchess’s values – the label is dedicated to lifting women out of poverty.

Royals know what they wear will be closely scrutinised, so it’s no accident when Meghan chose to wear many eco-friendly brands.

She’s influenced the fashion industry like no other

There’s no denying the royal family’s fashion choices are influential – after all, whatever the Duchess of Cambridge wears regularly sells out immediately. Meghan has the same effect when she wears clothes from the high street, but has a wider influence on high fashion as well.

When she burst into the public eye, designers took note of her style and were inspired to send similar things down the catwalk. From Burberry to Brandon Maxwell, there’s been in resurgence in the classics: crisp white shirts, trench coats, sleek denim – all things Meghan would wear, so it’s not too much of a stretch to see her influence.

PICTURE: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP