When the Duchess of Sussex wears something, women around the world take notice. And when she stepped out of The Mark hotel in New York City last week wearing a pair of chic black sunglasses, they sold out within hours.
The oversized shades are the $69 Air Heart style by Australian eyewear brand Le Specs.
Her appearance with the glasses was unexpected for Hamish Tame, creative director for Sunshades Eyewear, which is the parent company of Le Specs.
“It came as a total surprise that Meghan owned our Air Heart sunglasses which was very exciting,” he said in an email to Royal Central. “Meghan had worn another pair of Le Specs Bandwagon sunglasses during her visit to Australia last year, so maybe they have been waiting in her wardrobe since then.”
Unsurprisingly, orders have skyrocketed after Meghan was photographed wearing her Le Specs. “The sales of the style more than tripled last week,” he said, adding that “our website traffic has increased significantly, I’d say more so than any other celebrity wearing Le Specs.”
Tame said the brand noticed a considerable increase in engagement on social media and saw their “Instagram following increase by over 3,000 on the day she wore the sunglasses.”
The glasses remain sold out, but Le Specs have a waiting list on their website and are expecting a restock in May.
Meghan’s style choices have impacted businesses around the globe since her relationship with Prince Harry was confirmed.
“The ‘Meghan Effect’ is an undeniable economic phenomenon – when she wears it, it turns to gold – so much so that the Le Specs Air Heart sunglasses that Meghan wore on tour in Morocco sold out at every single online retailer within 48 hours,” said Christine Ross, creative director of Effervescence Media Group, which runs the popular blog Meghan’s Mirror.
“We’ve seen this happen many times, with blouses, accessories, and that iconic Everlane tote bag,” she continued. “Everyone wants to get a piece of Meghan’s style, and the retailers and brands that she wears are seeing a huge impact from that.”
