Meghan Markle’s style guide continues to roll along, but not everyone is eager to stay on board. Some brands are hitting the emergency brakes and bailing out before the whole thing derails. On Monday, the Montecito influencer unveiled her carefully curated collection of minimalist fashion on ShopMy, a platform designed to help celebrities monetize their so-called style influence.
Among the brands featured were J.Crew, Gap, Uniqlo, Veronica Beard, and several other labels—some thrilled, others not so much—about being linked to Markle’s ever-controversial image. As expected, when the media reached out to these companies for comments, most opted for silence. Brochu Walker declined to respond. Uniqlo, J.Crew, Reformation, and Anine Bing followed suit with nothing but radio silence. Meanwhile, brands with personal ties to Meghan issued vague, PR-friendly statements about privacy and friendship. The unspoken translation? They’d rather not alienate potential customers by stepping into the drama.
The real spectacle, however, began when J.Crew, seemingly caught off guard by its unintentional association, was rumored to be scrambling to distance itself from Meghan faster than you can say "scheduled maintenance." If this sounds familiar, it’s because just two years ago, the Sussex Squad threw a collective tantrum when J.Crew’s website went down for scheduled maintenance. Their theory? The so-called "Markle Effect" had triggered such a shopping frenzy that it crashed the site. Reality? The outage only affected the outlet store and was almost certainly due to routine tech updates rather than an overwhelming demand for Meghan-endorsed blazers. But logic and reason have never been the defining traits of the Markle fandom, have they? Rather than acknowledging that not every company wants to be tethered to such a polarizing figure, her die-hard supporters resorted to their usual tactics—harassment, conspiracy theories, and a general lack of self-awareness. The result? More brands are taking the hint and quietly stepping away.
In the world of high fashion and luxury branding, association is everything. Meghan may dream of landing a major ambassadorship with a powerhouse like Chanel, Dior, or Saint Laurent, but reality tells a different story. These brands align themselves with cultural icons who exude exclusivity and prestige—not figures who bring tabloid drama and Twitter meltdowns. Meghan, on the other hand, stepped onto the global stage through a royal wedding, and let’s just say "earned success" has never exactly been her narrative.
At the end of the day, the J.Crew saga is just another example of why brands are increasingly treating Meghan Markle like a PR liability. Aligning with her doesn’t just come with style influence—it comes with the entire package: a fanbase prone to delusion, endless controversies, and a constant need for damage control. No well-established company is looking to take on that level of baggage. While Meghan may have envisioned her ShopMy page as a testament to her effortless influence, the reality is clear—her most significant impact seems to be on corporate risk assessments. One by one, brands are making it known: this is one fashion collaboration they’d rather sit out.
