Duchess Meghan Marks Smart Set Anniversary

To mark the first anniversary of the Smart Set collection, the Duchess of Sussex joined three clients who were successfully supported by her patronage Smart Works in achieving their career goals. Meghan told Charlene, Angieszka and Karla that the true success of the organisation and its amazing team of staff and volunteers is "what it does for you inside". She added: "It’s what is built within, that is the piece that you walk out of that room with and walk into the interview with."

News of the Smart Set collection was revealed in the September 2019 issue of British Vogue which Meghan guest edited. The project, eight months in the making, brought together British retailers John Lewis, Marks & Spencer, Jigsaw and Meghan's close friend Misha Nonoo to create wearable, classic and versatile pieces, designed to serve as ideal choices to mix and match to help Smart Works' clients sail through their interviews with confidence. It all began in January when Jo Bennett, head of womenswear at John Lewis, received a call out of the blue from Meghan. The tote bag sold at John Lewis was perhaps the most coveted piece in the collection.

During a speech at the launch, the Duchess said: "As women, it is 100 percent our responsibility I think to support and uplift each other; to champion each other as we aim to succeed, to not set each other up for failure, but instead to really be there rallying around each other and say, 'I want to help you'."

At the time, neither Meghan nor Smart Works could have anticipated the enormous challenges ahead due to the pandemic, and just how desperately needed the collection would be.

Smart Works CEO, Kate Stephens said:

'“The Smart Set Capsule Collection has been a revolution for our wardrobes. When we meet a client, who wants to look chic and smart, we have four beautiful wardrobe essentials we know we can reach for. The collection has elevated the Smart Works experience for so many of our clients and the generosity of our supporters means we’ll be able to continue supporting women with pieces from the collection for the year ahead as well.”

The team at Smart Works would like to take this opportunity to thank The Duchess of Sussex for her continued support of our charity, the retail partners who came together to help create the original collection and the wonderful supporters who purchased pieces and helped fill our wardrobes.'

Meghan was delighted to hear all three women landed their jobs, with one lady receiving three job offers from three interviews. "They really coached me and got me ready, I felt so confident … they sent out the clothes and they fit amazingly, I put them on and that was the last piece of just feeling confident." Meghan also heard about the challenges of searching for another position after twenty years. Meghan replied: "As women, so often it's easy to forget all of your skills and your assets. Not that they're not there, but you need someone sometimes to point them out for you."

More from Smart Works:

'With over 3,000 clients coming to Smart Works in the last year and 1,000 women taking pieces, the collection has proved to be invaluable. In particular it has played an important role in ensuring the success of the new virtual service which was launched as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pieces from the collection are regularly sent out to clients in care packages ahead of job interviews, ensuring they look smart and feel confident despite not being able to come to our centres.'

As I said at the time, every person who purchased a piece from the collection knows its twin went to supporting another woman on her journey. Women supporting one another is at the heart of this effort and made it a very special project.