Meghan Markle touts her ‘power’ for raising the profile of ‘up-and-coming brands’ as she invests in Cesta Collective which she wore in Colombia

Meghan Markle has  traded her domestic dream for life as a fashionista as she forked over a sum of money to lavish bag brand Cesta Collective following her setback with her business American Riviera Orchard. 

Prince Harry, 39, and Duchess of Sussex were spotted in high spirits as they took to Colombia this month following their quasi-royal tour and donated a slew of drum sets as well as a learning environment to the people of South America. 

And while their goal for the trip was to highlight the good they hope to accomplish, Meghan, 43, also used the getaway as a chance to reveal her new $750 (£568) purse from the brand Cesta Collective, which she recently invested in. 

Speaking to the New York Times, the Duchess revealed her strategy for using the ‘global spotlight’ to promote designers she has ‘really great friendships with’ including ‘smaller, up-and-coming 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 Markle has traded her domestic dream for life as a fashionista as she forked over a sum of money to brand Cesta Collective following her setback with American Riviera Orchard

In 2020, the Suits star began investing in a number of small female-owned business and even ventured out on her own with her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard, which will sell ultra trendy ‘fruit butters’, ‘legume-based spreads’, and ‘edible oils and fats’. 

However, amid trademark issues with her cookery company, Meghan has turned her sights to company Cesta Collective, which sells purses handwoven by women in Rwanda and are later finished in Italy. 

The Duchess of Sussex – who ran lifestyle brand, The Tig, before meeting Prince Harry – first discovered the brand when she was online shopping. 

Although Meghan’s popularity with fans was dwindling amid troubles with the Royal Family, the former actress has relied on the one thing she knows to be true: people can’t get enough of her stylish ensembles. 

After learning that a purse she donned while photographed with Prince Harry sold out in just 11 minutes, Meghan decided to be more savvy about the companies she was investing and what she sported in front of paparazzi. 

The Duchess said: ‘I spend a lot of time just Googling, looking for brands. When people are online looking for things or reading things, I’m trying to find great new designers, especially in different territories.’ 

Meghan initially sported the $750 white purse to dinner with Harry in 2023. 

Cesta’s founders Erin Ryder and Courtney Weinblatt Fasciano revealed that after she donned the stunning bag, they noticed they had an uptick in purchases. 

Meghan then decided to invest into the brand to help it grow. Although she declined to reveal how much she had forked over, the founders of Cesta revealed that it was a minority stake. 

While in Colombia, Meghan donned the $750 (£568) purse from Cesta Collective in the colour ‘Panna’

The Duchess of Sussex (seen with Prince Harry at the 2024 ESPY Awards in July) is known for her stylish ensembles

The Duchess of Sussex – who ran lifestyle brand, The Tig, before meeting Prince Harry – first discovered the brand when she was online shopping

The former actress explained that her clothing means a lot to her and she takes her outfits extremely seriously because she knows it can help companies garner attention

Cesta has an annual revenue of $1million (£756,990) and its purses take about four to seven days to complete. 

‘We are a mission-based, responsibly-made handbag brand — celebrating the work of talented female artisans,’ the brand explains on its Instagram profile.  

The positive impact that Meghan’s support can prompt on a given brand was recently revealed on BBC’s Dragon’s Den when the founders of a lab-grown jewellery brand, Kimaï, featured.

The brand’s founders, Antwerp-born friends Sidney Neuhaus and Jessica Warch, were frustrated with the lack of supply chain transparency across the industry, so they pioneered the use of 100 per cent traceable lab-grown diamonds.

The brand, which was established in 2018, was worn by The Duchess of Sussex in 2019 during a royal engagement in London and is a favourite of Emma Watson and Jessica Alba, while Diane von Fürstenberg was the first female investor to back the business.

Meghan Markle sporting a pair of lab-grown diamond earrings by Kimaï while visiting Smart Works in London in January 2019

Sidney Neuhaus (left) and Jessica Warch (right), who founded jewellery brand Kimaï, secured a £250,000 investment from Steven Bartlett on BBC’s Dragon’s Den after revealing the support received from Meghan

The duo explained their profits over the past few years and how Meghan played a significant part in spiking sales.

Jessica said: ‘We’ve launched without investment, and then two months after our launch we got Meghan Markle to wear our pieces, which enabled us to grow the revenue significantly, and from there we raised $1.2 million.’

Their pitch on Dragon’s Den, plus revealing the support of Meghan Markle, led Steven Bartlett to make his biggest investment since joining Dragons’ Den – offering £250,000 to Kimaï.

Meghan’s latest investment into Cetsta Collective comes after issues with her lifestyle brand American Riviera were revealed.

DailyMail.com previously revealed that Meghan’s lineup would feature ‘edible oils and fats’, jellies, jams and spreads made of legumes, garlic, and sesame, as well as nut and fruit butters.

However, earlier this month, it was revealed that her business came to a screeching halt due to trademark problems.   

But records show that in July – some four months after requesting to register it – there were a number of ‘irregularities’ which needed to be ‘corrected’.

However, earlier this month, it was revealed that her business came to a screeching halt due to trademark problems

But records show that in July – some four months after requesting to register it – there were a number of ‘irregularities’ which needed to be ‘corrected’

Meghan has sent products including jam and dog biscuits to some friends but plans are now afoot to start with a rose wine

The US Patents and Trademarks Office has notified the Sussexes’ lawyers of various issues, including incorrect classification of yoga blankets, picnic baskets and recipe books.

And the agency said that fees are due to various bodies around the world to register the trademark – totaling $11,382 (£8,617).

It is believed that Netflix, which has just finished filming a cookery show with the duchess, is taking over the commercial exploitation of the brand, so it would be safe to assume it will pay the fees.

A source close to Meghan confirmed that American Riviera Orchard has received several Notices of Irregularity requesting clarifications on goods and services as well as the reclassification of certain items. 

The source added that such requests are typical and entirely expected when filing international applications due to the differences between international and U.S. standards and classifications.

All fees associated with these notices have already been paid, according to the source.

Meghan revealed she was trying to become the queen of the kitchen in early March by setting up an Instagram page which showed nine images revealing the name of the brand. 

It also featured a gold logo, a faux heraldic ‘ARO’, and the word ‘Montecito’, where she and Prince Harry moved after stepping down as working royals.

Meghan has sent products including jam and dog biscuits to some friends but plans are now afoot to start with a rose wine.

The launch of Meghan’s lifestyle brand was in the works for a whopping 18 months. It can be revealed that the prospect has electrified Netflix, which signed a deal with the Sussexes in 2020. 

Their first documentary, Harry & Meghan, which came out in December 2022 and followed their issues with the Royal Family, was a global success. 

Meghan wore a shirt designed by her old friend Victoria Beckham while speaking at the Responsible Digital Future forum in Bogota

Meghan wore nearly £90,000 worth of clothes and jewellery during her four-day trip to Colombia with Prince Harry last week. Pictured wearing £1,659 dress by Johanna Ortiz

While Meghan’s lifestyle brand undergoes necessary hurdles, her stylistic choices have remained as strong as ever.

During her trip to Colombia alongside Prince Harry, she debuted several new wardrobe pieces that triggered excitement among royal fans, including the bag from Cesta Collective.

While her clothes will continue influencing consumption choices from her following, her jewellery collection from the trip may be a little more difficult – and pricier – to replicate.

The total value of Meghan’s clothing and jewellery from the tour came in at a cool £90,000, with her sparkling rings and necklaces totting up the value.

Her jewellery alone, which included several of her staples – Princess Diana’s £17,800 Cartier watch and a £15,011.84 ‘Against Evil Eye’ bracelet from Lorraine Schwartz, added significant value to the price tag of her items.

Meghan gave a sweet nod to the hosting country, wearing multiple pieces by Johanna Ortiz, who is from Colombia and one of her favourite designers.

She also wore items designed by Andres Otalora and Silvia Tcherassi, from Colombia. At the same time, her Hannia Char boater hat was handwoven by Colombian artisans – proving that Meghan is personalising her looks for each tour.

Meghan wore just one high street outfit the entire time – a sleeveless shirt from Mango – instead favouring stylish and often bespoke pieces from her favourite designers.

In total, her clothes and jewellery came to £89,964 – but as several items were gifted, the true value may be far higher. Significantly, this figure also doesn’t include her £140,000 engagement ring.

By combining old staples and several new items, Meghan put on a fashion display fit for royalty in her four days in Colombia.