'Vulgar and obscene': Meghan’s meeting with Malala is a lesson in charity done badly

When I was around six, I remember asking my mother to let me wear a princess dress to school.

She refused, teaching me one of society’s more useful lessons: dress for the occasion.

Apparently, the princess dress (or, in this case, a duchess' dress) comes with fewer restrictions once you have an actual title.

Which brings us to Meghan Markle, an afternoon tea with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, and a wardrobe whose reported value could give even the most generous CFO heart palpitations.

The pair met at Claridge’s in London on October 7. Meghan wore cashmere, Ralph Lauren trousers, a Tove coat, Saint Laurent loafers, and a Chanel handbag, with a diamond-and-emerald necklace completing the ensemble.

Sure, lovely clothes, but a curiously expensive way to discuss human rights.

 

 

 

 

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A photograph with purpose?

According to Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice, the appearance was calculated to signal Meghan’s humanitarian ambitions.

“Meghan could have gone to a hundred restaurants without being photographed,” an insider told Shuter. “She chose Claridge’s because she wanted to be seen. This was deliberate.”

“She chose Malala because she wants to be taken seriously as a humanitarian,” the source added.

On The Nerve, commentator Maureen Callahan offered a considerably less diplomatic assessment.

“I wish the likes of Malala didn’t fall for this s***.”

She described Malala as “a pawn in her game” and “a mere prop”, and called Meghan’s expensive ensemble “vulgar” and “obscene”.

Callahan also alleged that Meghan had arranged paparazzi attention. OK, sure, that may just be Callahan's opinion, but think about it: does anyone really believe that Malala called the paps? Didn't think so.

Her broader objection, however, gets to the awkwardness: a serious advocate’s work risks becoming scenery for someone else’s publicity.

If the intended message was humanitarian credibility, the shopping component hardly helps.

Charity, with a checkout

As Ever, Meghan's lemonade-stand-esque ‘artisan’ food brand subsequently announced that all net proceeds from its October 11 jam and tea sales would support the Malala Fund, in partnership with Archewell Philanthropies. The fund advocates for girls’ education. A worthy cause, plainly.

But indulge me, dear reader: Why ask customers to buy premium tea to help fund girls’ schooling when you could wear something cheaper and donate the difference yourself?

A perfectly serviceable financial instrument exists for this. It’s called Osko, and requires neither hibiscus nor a lifestyle brand.

Charitable retail campaigns raise money and introduce customers to causes. Any money reaching girls who need an education deserves recognition.

The arrangement nevertheless gives As Ever something valuable: attention, sales and an association with a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

We've all seen this movie before: Customers supply the spending. The brand gets to look generous. Yadda, yadda, yadda.

“Net proceeds” matters, too. The pledge concerns sales after applicable deductions, not every dollar that passes through the till.

An expensive cuppa

As Ever’s tea pricing has already attracted scrutiny. Earlier reporting found its twelve-bag packs cost roughly what its supplier, The Republic of Tea, charged for thirty-six comparable bags. Meghan’s representatives said her blend was unique.

Perhaps it is, but for that price, that tea better clean my house.

Look, I get it, calling a product overpriced is a judgement. Mine is that a duchess’s branding adds far more to the bill than to the cup.

An outfit’s reported value doesn’t establish that Meghan bought everything that morning. Nor does this campaign reveal how much she gives privately.

But she controls the public proposition.

Kate has a wardrobe, too

Catherine, Princess of Wales, offers a useful comparison.

Kate Middleton wears designer clothes and expensive jewellery. She also repeats high street fashion. Her Zara houndstooth dress has appeared at engagements across several years, including visits concerning community projects and early childhood education.

Meghan could borrow that habit without borrowing the dress.

Her commercial choices already invite scrutiny: OneOff made the clothes she wore to meet Bondi attack survivors and first responders shoppable, and she is an investor.

It's bizarre the sell itself even got past the idea stage: GET THE LOOK: VISITING TERROR ATTACK SURVIVORS

Girls’ education shouldn’t need to come bundled with someone else’s pantry ambitions.

Wear the affordable trousers. Repeat the coat. Make a personal donation alongside whatever customers contribute.

The cause gets the money. Meghan gets to demonstrate the generosity.

And nobody needs to buy twelve teabags to make it happen.