The designers who rejected Meghan Markle

There was a time when Meghan Markle wasn't famous enough to be dressed by the world's top designers.

Markle, 37, now the Duchess of Sussex, was a regular on hit US TV show Suits before marrying Prince Harry, and while she was definitely a celebrity, she wasn't deemed 'A-list' enough to be dressed by some fashion designers.

How times have changed.

Now, whatever Markle wears tends to sell out.

Long-time friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin spoke to Gayle King for the CBS special Meghan and Harry Plus One, recalling the time when the then-actress struggled to get the attention of designers.

"There were times when designers wouldn’t send her anything because she wasn’t an A-list actress or she wasn’t doing movies," Martin said.

"She always had such an innate sense of her own style so I’m happy people can see that," Martin said.

As a result, he says, Markle learned to fend for herself and depend on her own sense of style.

"She doesn’t have a stylist, everything she wears she picks herself," he said. "No stylist. It’s pretty incredible that she can manage all of this."

Before becoming a Duchess, Markle managed to establish herself as a style influencer, promoting her fashion choices through now-defunct lifestyle blog The Tig.

Since officially joining the royal family in 2018, Markle has been praised for her fashion choices, and now she has top designing vying for her attention, including Australian brands.

She helped put flailing Australian fashion label, Oroton, back on the style map when she was pictured with their striped cross-body bag at the Commonwealth Youth Forum in London, causing the bag to quickly sell out.

Sydney-based designer Karen Gee, briefly became the most talked about woman in the country when the stylish royal donned a simple white sheath dress from her namesake label, for her first official engagement of the royal tour. 

The "Blessed" style, which sells for $1,800, caused the brand’s website to crash and demand for Gee’s slick designs went into overdrive.

Markle also paid subtle tribute to close friend, Serena Williams, when she wore a plaid blazer from the tennis champ's namesake fashion label during the royal tour. The blazer quickly sold out.