Last year, many people became convinced that there was a lot of bad blood amid the Princess of Wales’s split with her longtime stylist Natasha Archer. I was on the fence about the bad blood – it seemed clear that the breakup made little sense in the grand scheme of things, which definitely indicated that there was a personal, not professional, falling out between Kate and Natasha. After the split, Natasha made her Instagram account public and we learned that she had been following the Duchess of Sussex’s account, As Ever’s account, and the accounts of dozens of Meghan’s friends and associates. It was giving “stalker.” It made both Natasha AND Kate look completely unhinged. Well, here’s evidence that there are still hard feelings post-split. The Daily Mail is now accusing Natasha of “falling under Meghan’s spell.” From the Mail’s “Has Kate’s former assistant fallen under Meghan’s spell? Natasha Archer’s new business seems to have more in common with As Ever than her days at the palace.” Ooooooh.
At first glance, you’d be forgiven for thinking the glossy black and white snaps of a woman in a sleek blazer, with quotes about ‘creating something elevated’ were of Meghan Markle, borrowing more Silicon Valley style speak to promote her honey and jam. But look closer and you’d realise that this promo is far from Montecito shores. Rather, it’s all for a new brand set up by Kate’s former right-hand woman – who worked with the royals for over 15 years.
The Princess of Wales’ former PA certainly appears to have taken a leaf out of the Duchess of Sussex’s playbook, launching an Instagram to promote her new style consultancy with cream backgrounds and musings on ‘focusing on the details’. Even Natasha’s logo – a self-stylised cypher of her initials, NA – have an ‘As Ever’ flair to them, channelling the same aesthetic as Meghan’s palm tree emblem. Both also tout stripped back, monochrome social media feeds, featuring plenty of trendy millennial beige and ‘candid’ photography.
This week, Natasha – whose new business launches tomorrow – shared a black and white snap of herself in a modern office, with a collaged mood board in the background.
‘It begins with understanding,’ she wrote. ‘Is refined through detail and brought together to create something elevated.’ The musings are not dissimilar to Meghan’s regular posts about wanting to ‘elevate the everyday into the exceptional’ through her products.
‘I always knew that I wanted to turn these ideas into something real, and to make beautiful items that spark connection and celebrate quiet, meaningful moments,’ she has said of As Ever – inviting customers to ‘‘mimic the magic of Montecito in a way you can recreate at home’.
In February last year, the Duchess had even shared a very similar looking mood board, which served as the inspiration for As Ever.
Much like Natasha’s, which features product snaps as well as aspirational photos of champagne glasses and fashion runways, Meghan’s included pictures of food, as well as inspirational quotes.
It wouldn’t be too far-fetched for Natasha to have been inspired by Meghan; as last year, she unfollowed several Instagram accounts after royal fans noticed she was following some of the Duchess’ inner circle. After making her Instagram public, sleuths found that Natasha was following both Meghan’s Instagram account and As Ever, the former royal’s new lifestyle brand. Natasha was also following Meghan’s make-up artist Daniel Martin, her close friends Abigail Spencer, Delfina Blaquier and Heather Dorak as well as various blogs and fan accounts dedicated to the Duchess of Sussex’s fashion. She has since unfollowed dozens of accounts but still follows Sarah Rafferty, Meghan’s co-star on Suits and Emma Grede – a guest on Meghan’s podcast.
I hope this gives Meghan a chuckle this week. She left those dreadful people in the dust over six years ago and they’re still obsessed with her and obsessively copying every single thing she does, says or wears. The moodboard! Natasha was once responsible for creating Meghan moodboards for Kate, and now Natasha is copying Meghan’s As Ever moodboards as she starts her own business! Moodboards on top of moodboards, copykeening on top of copykeening, psychosis on top of psychosis. Something I think about a lot is the crazy claim that Meghan “should have known what she was signing up for.” Do you seriously think that anyone could have predicted this though? That they would still be this fixated on Meghan, years after she left?
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Photos courtesy of Natasha Archer’s Instagram.
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