Duchess of Sussex line sells out, more stock due but eBay sellers cash in

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Sep 16, 2019

John Lewis is working to restock the tote bag from Meghan Markle’s charity clothing collection after the style sold out within hours following its launch on Thursday, and has warned shoppers that any items bought on eBay will not include a donation.

The Duchess of Sussex’s Smart Works capsule collection launched last week in partnership with three quintessentially British brands: John Lewis, Jigsaw,  Marks & Spencer, and her designer friend Misha Nonoo.

Each retailer agreed to sell only one style, rather than the full collection, with John Lewis launching a tote bag, Marks & Spencer a dress, Jigsaw a suit and Misha Nonoo a white shirt.

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For every item bought from the range, one will be donated to Smart Works to help the charity build its wardrobe of workwear pieces for long-term unemployed and vulnerable women.

Whilst most items from the range, including Marks & Spencer’s blue and black office-appropriate dress, Jigsaw’s black suit and Nonoo’s white shirt are still available in most sizes online, several items have been put up for sale on eBay at vastly inflated prices.

The £19.50 dress has appeared on the auction site with a £50 price, while the £109 tote bags are being sold for up to £345.

A spokeswoman for John Lewis told The Daily Telegraph the firm was “delighted” with the bag’s success, adding: “More stock will be on our website next week. Sales of the tote bag anywhere else do not lead to a charity donation.”

Meghan Markle worked with each of the brands individually on the workwear pieces to curate the Smart Set Capsule collection. 

The range will be on sale for at least two weeks.