Misha Nonoo saw an “instant” surge of sales in her Husband shirt after it was worn by the Duchess of Sussex.
The fashion designer’s close friend opted to wear one of her white oversized creations when she made her first public appearance with then-boyfriend Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in 2017 and Misha – who is rumoured to have set the couple up – admitted her business changed overnight.
Speaking to Elle for their Clothes of Our Lives series: “When a person of note—particularly someone that is so closely associated to myself or to the brand like Meghan is, and it’s well documented that we have a long, enduring, and very close friendship—wears your design, there’s an almost instant shift in interest and sales.
“Her platform gave a great level of awareness to our brand and our mission. I think that’s just a natural phenomenon that occurs when you are fortunate enough to have a like-minded person publicize your collection, like Meghan has done with the Husband shirt.
“People buy the original in white, and then come back for more in different colours because they love it so much.
“The shirt has taken on a life of its own at this point – becoming a very important and meaningful piece not just for me, but in other peoples’ lives.”
Misha is proud of the way she and Meghan were able to use the popularity of the Husband shirt to help others.
She said: “Not only do I love wearing it, but the Husband shirt has also become a solid part of my business. We have been able to do so much with it – including working with different charitable organizations.
“In 2019, Meghan and I teamed up to design a white shirt for a collaboration called The Smart Set. For every shirt sold, we donated the same shirt to a philanthropic organisation based in the U.K. called Smart Works, which helps women who have been out of the workforce for a prolonged period of time.
“Not only does Smart Works offer guidance to women anything from coaching to interview techniques, but they also help them dress for interviews.
“The Duchess of Sussex was a patron of the organisation in the U.K., and she created a capsule wardrobe for them. We ended up contributing several thousand shirts, and it an amazing partnership.”