Meghan 2.0 is a golden girl! Duchess ditches her monochrome style for metallic for New York gala

Meghan Markle ditched her monochromatic style last night when she wore a gold ensemble in public for the first time ever.

Known for her love of expensive designer labels, the 41-year-old Duchess of Sussex regularly wears a muted palette of neutrals and monochromes.

But when the mother-of-two accepted a feminist award at a New York gala last night, she donned a $1,850 strapless gold Johanna Ortiz dress with scalloped pattern details.

It was the first time the royal family had ever worn the metallic hue in public, and it seemed to herald a new era for Meghan, who is relaunching herself in the US.

In December, the Duchess claimed she “tone down” her wardrobe while living in the UK to avoid clashes with senior members of the royal family.

In a 2015 interview with InStyle, Meghan revealed that the colors she’s looking for give insight into her mindset.

She said, “I think our clothes are such a reflection of how we feel. When you’re in love, you probably wear things that make you feel more romantic when you put them on.

“Or if you’re going through a stressful time, the same can be said for wearing things that are more monochromatic or darker in tone.”

Meanwhile, in her £88 million Netflix series, the Duchess claimed she avoided wearing color while living in the UK.

The former Suits actress said trying to wrap her head around the “royal wave” and learn to bow to the queen while under public scrutiny was a “baptism of fire” for life in the firm.

In an effort not to step on toes within the royal family, the Duchess said she’s also adapted her wardrobe accordingly.

She said: ‘Most of the time I was in the UK I rarely wore colour.

“In my opinion you should never wear the same color as Her Majesty when there is a group event, but then you should also not wear the same color as any of the other senior members of the family.”

To respect this rumored royal protocol, Meghan says she started dressing almost exclusively in camel, beige and white.

She continued, “I wore a lot of muted shades, but it was also so I could just blend in.” I’m trying not to stand out here.

“There was no version of me [that was] joining this family and not trying to do everything I could to fit in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.’

However, Meghan still continued to wear color on solo engagements — including her visit to a community center in Birkenhead, where she wore a bright red coat over a purple dress.

While it’s unclear if royal women are asked to adhere to this hierarchical dress code, the Queen famously wore bright colors for public engagements.

While the Duchess has never worn gold in public before, her sister-in-law Kate Middleton has opted for the metallic tone for past events in the past.

In September 2021, the Princess of Wales donned a shimmering gold dress to attend the premiere of the latest James Bond film with King Charles, Queen Camilla and her husband Prince William.

Last night, Meghan marked her first public event with husband Prince Harry since her absence from her father-in-law King Charles III’s coronation in London 11 days ago, which the duke attended alone on May 6.

In keeping with the evening’s feminist theme, Meghan chose her dress from women’s brand Johanna Ortiz, but she opted to put her own spin on the label’s Ideal Universe Midi-Dress by choosing to remove the straps that originally appeared in the design had been incorporated to better show off its Californian glow.

Sticking to the gold color scheme for the evening, the Duchess embellished her midi dress – which has a slit all the way down the front – with a pair of funky gold strappy ‘naked’ heels from Tom Ford.

The designer behind Meghan’s evening dress – Johanna Ortiz – is a Colombian-born fashion enthusiast who studied Fashion Design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, before “completing her formal training” in New York and Paris before returning to her home country where she made her eponymous brand established.

On her website, Johanna makes clear her commitment to women’s empowerment and advocacy, writing, “Johanna has kept her commitment to social causes and women’s empowerment a cornerstone of her design and business ethos.”

The bio continues, “Today her vision has become a reality in a successful company that employs more than 450 people, most of whom are female heads of household.

She has crossed boundaries and become an international fashion guru known for her distinct silhouettes, unique prints and general joie de vivre in every collection.

‘Johanna is inspired by her surroundings, from the richness of biodiversity of her beloved Colombia and Latin America to the strong feminine spirit anchored in the women around her, her travels and her inner spiritual world.

Her unbridled love of color and print, her couture knowledge of silhouette and fit, and her unabashed exuberance of elegance have made her brand a coveted treasure for all fashion enthusiasts.

‘For twenty years now, the JO brand has grown organically and sustainably, stitch by stitch, collection by collection and, above all, person by person. The brand has developed an exclusive design language from a foundation based on the power of the feminine and a celebration of the exquisite.’

The brand has previously been worn by numerous celebrities, including Kate Hudson, Jennifer Garner, Mandy Moore and Anna Faris.

Last night, Meghan borrowed the Queen’s mantra by applauding “daily acts of service” as she urged women to “be the visionary of your own life” as she accepted a feminist award at a gala in New York – in a boost for its American go-around.

The Duchess told the audience: ‘It’s just never too late to start. You can be the visionary of your own life.

“You can chart a path in which what you repeat in your daily acts of service, in kindness, in advocacy, in mercy, and in fairness, become those things that will be recognized by the next wave of women, both young and old, who are also will choose this moment to join the movement and make our vision for a just world a reality.”

The California-based couple were joined yesterday by Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.

The Duchess’s relaunch — dubbed “Meghan 2.0” — has already seen her speaking about mental health to youth in Santa Barbara and dining with Hollywood stars including Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow over the past week.