Meghan Markle donned an effortlessly elegant ensemble worth $3,675 as she attended Variety’s Power of Women event in Los Angeles last night.
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, opted a classy minimalist look in a beige maxi dress from New York-based brand Proenza Schouler – available for £1,120 $1,390 in black and white variants on the website.
The trendy gown featured a one-shoulder design with slits along the skirt, cinching slightly at the waist.
The mother-of-two teamed the frock with a £1,120 ($1,390) leather clutch from the same designer and £720 ($895) heels from her favourite Aquazzura.
Meghan collected her raven tresses back into a slick bun and opted for a summery, dewy make-up look which showed off her California tan.
She accessorised with minimal golden jewellery, grinning while posing for snaps.
The Duchess had used a solo trip to a ‘mom’s night out’ gala in LA to tease that she and Prince Harry are working on ‘exciting’ new projects and ‘can’t wait to announce them’, it was revealed today.
Meghan told Variety she is ‘really proud’ of what Archewell Productions had created so far, including Netflix docu-series Harry & Meghan and her Archetypes podcast for Spotify.
She posed alongside famous faces including Billie Eilish, Margot Robbie and Carey Mulligan at the star-studded event on Thursday.
On a night where she also praised the ‘everlasting impact’ of her TV series Suits, Meghan said: ‘We have so many exciting things on the slate. I can’t wait until we can announce them, but I’m just really proud of what we’re creating. My husband is loving it too which is really fun.’
The former actress did not reveal what the projects were – but told Variety on the red carpet that she wants to create ‘things that make people feel’ as well as create ‘a sense of community’.
Multiple sources have claimed Meghan is about to announce a new project – insisting it is not a relaunch of her lifestyle blog The Tig or a return to acting.
Meghan has been much more visible on the LA scene recently, including two nights watching Beyonce. She also flew on a private jet with Harry and rich friends to see the final performance of Katy Perry‘s Las Vegas residency.
Meghan was Variety’s cover star last year and was among those garlanded in 2022, but was unable to attend the fall 2022 event due to the death of the Queen.
Entertainment Tonight asked her if it was ‘Mom’s night out’, and the mother-of-two laughed and replied: ‘Exactly.’
She was asked by Variety what she was working on, and said it was projects ‘that make you feel’ – adding that she could not wait to speak more about her forthcoming work.
She said she had ‘no idea’ why Suits suddenly regained popularity.
‘It was great to work on,’ she said. ‘Such a great cast and crew. We had a really fun time. I was on it for seven seasons, so quite a bit.
‘But it’s hard to find a show you can binge-watch that many episodes of these days, so that could have something to do with it.
‘But good shows are everlasting.’
Meghan was asked what was now ‘driving the things you put out in the business’.
She replied: ‘Things that make people feel… I was going to say things that make people feel good, but it’s more than that. Things that make people feel something, right? And a sense of community.
‘But we have so many exciting things on the slate, I can’t wait until we can announce them. I’m just really proud of what we’re creating.’
The Duchess said that she was appreciative of other women in show business supporting each other.
‘This industry is so special and you see how many women use the platform that they have and channel it for good.
‘And the more we support each other, it amplifies the work, amplifies our community – and I’m just thrilled to be back in it.
‘And be able to sit in this room, be in such good company tonight.
‘And also to focus so much on how this is the crossroads of entertainment meeting philanthropy. So it’s really close to my heart. It’s going to be a fun night.’
This year’s honorees included Carey Mulligan, singer Fantasia Barrino, ‘Killers of the Flowers Moon’ star Lily Gladstone, and Billie Eilish – who performed ‘What Was I Made For’ alongside her brother Finneas O’Connell.
The magazine presented a Producer of the Year Award to Margot Robbie, who produced Barbie, and an Alumni Award to Emily Blunt.
Other attendees, Variety reported, included Leonardo DiCaprio, Dua Lipa, Emerald Fennell, Oprah Winfrey and Riley Keough.
Billie was sporting a black hair-do with dyed red roots, paired with a black blazer ensemble and a matching headscarf, while Saltburn star Mulligan opted for a black off-the-shoulder dress with a short bob haircut.
Carey posed with British actress Emily Blunt wearing a white sparkly number with feathered sleeves, who said she ‘cry-wept’ at Carey’s performance in Maestro which she also described as ‘one of the best things’ she’d ever seen.
Similarly, on the red carpet Carey said she ‘worships’ Barbie star Robbie, who was styling a black off-the-shoulder dress paired with a classic red lip.
Speaking about her production company following the end of the Sag-Aftra US actors’ strike, Margot said: ‘I don’t have much of a voice right now but we really believe (in) people with original ideas and original voices, people like Emerald (Fennell) with Saltburn and Greta (Gerwig) with Barbie.
‘They are both such visionary directors with such original voices and they had such an original take on the story they wanted to tell and committing to that on the side of it coming out can seem scary but when you do, amazing things happen.’
The red carpet also saw singer-songwriter and actress Dua Lipa styling a red silk strappy dress with a bow.
Speaking about her work on the Argylle film, she said: ‘No music for this one, just focusing on the acting.
‘I had the most fun, honestly being on a motorcycle doing all the stunts, it was just so much fun and working with Henry (Cavill) was amazing and Matthew (Vaughn) is just such a great director so I really thoroughly enjoyed that experience.’
