Meghan Markle Sports a Vibrant Dress by Colombian Designer (Who’s a Longtime Favorite!) During Visit Abroad

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry‘s first day in Colombia came with an outfit change that highlighted a designer born in the country.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex continued their visit to the South American country on Aug. 15 with a performance at the National Centre for the Arts in Bogotá. The couple both switched up their outfits from earlier in the day. After Meghan sported a sleeveless Veronica Beard suit with Manolo Blahnik heels for the official welcome and a school visit, she changed into the Navajo Weaver dress by Johanna Ortiz.

While the dress can be worn with statement ruffle sleeves or strapless, Meghan opted to sport it with spaghetti straps. She also let her hair down after wearing it in a slicked-back bun earlier in the day and accessorized with gold jewelry.

Meghan, 43, has worn the designer before, but it was an especially poignant choice given Ortiz’s Colombian heritage. According to her website, Ortiz was born in Cali, one of the cities that Meghan and Harry plan to visit during their trip abroad.

“From a very young age, she always gravitated to the beauty and lushness of her native country,” her bio states. “The tropical jungles, evergreen mountain ranges and myriad palm trees danced in her dreams where her creativity was awoken. In an urgent need to express the richness of her view, she decided to use fashion as the canvas for her vision.”

After studying fashion design at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale, New York and Paris, “Johanna returned to Colombia with a thirst for creating. So in 2003, she launched her eponymous label in her hometown of Cali,” her website says.

Ortiz continues to live in Cali with her husband and three sons.

Meghan sported multiple outfits by Ortiz during her May visit to Nigeria with Prince Harry and also wore a strapless gold dress from the designer in May 2023 when she accepted an award at the Women of Vision Awards: Celebrating Generations of Progress & Power in New York City.

Meghan is known to highlight designers from the countries she visits. In Nigeria, she sported a red dress by Nigerian designer Orire for a panel discussion she co-hosted on May 11. On another day of the visit to Africa, she donned a traditional Nigerian skirt she was gifted during their time in Abuja.

She similarly wore Australian designers including Martin Grant during the couple’s royal tour Down Under in 2018.

At the National Centre for the Arts in Bogotá, Prince Harry and Meghan joined Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez in taking in an artistic performance. The couple stood up and clapped along during the event, which featured performers in elaborate costumes.

Prince Harry, 39, laughed as he shook hands with a performer dressed up as a jaguar and smiled for a selfie with another.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex began their Colombia visit on Aug. 15 with an official greeting from Vice President Márquez and her husband, Rafael Yerney Pinillo, at their residence. There, they caught up over coffee, tea and traditional Colombian cheese bread and exchanged personal welcome gifts.

Meghan and Harry’s next stop was Colegio Cultura Popular, a local charter school in Bogotá. They participated in a session with students discussing the varying effects of social media and online use, and Meghan hailed the group as “impressive, smart and savvy.”

Before leaving, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped outside to meet some of the teachers and students during their recess! The couple smiled for selfies with the excited pupils.

Meghan and Prince Harry are also expected to spend Aug. 16 in Bogotá, where they’ll visit with students to highlight emotional well-being in education, attend a luncheon hosted by Márquez and get together with the country’s Invictus Games athletes. Colombia became the first South American country to join Prince Harry’s Paralympics-style event for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans, competing at the Düsseldorf Invictus Games in 2023.

The pair will also visit Cartagena and Cali during their trip overseas.