For years, Meghan Markle has been a supporter of Kadi Lee, the celebrity colorist responsible for her chestnut brown locks. Now, that support has become a part of Meghan’s investment portfolio. On Thursday, the duchess announced that she was a backer of Lee’s new haircare line Highbrow Hippie, and she underlined that financial contribution with an appearance at a launch party for the line at the trendy Los Angeles restaurant Gjelina. The pair were also joined by Meghan’s longtime hairstylist, Serge Normant, and Lee held a bouquet of roses picked from the duchess’s garden when they posed together at the step-and-repeat.
During the event, Lee spoke about her career journey and the role her friendship with the duchess played in her business’s evolution. Afterward, Meghan made a joke that emphasized just how much Lee’s skills have meant to her. “I was using boxed dye when I met her!” the duchess said, to laughs in the room.
The duchess wore a top and trousers by Khaite along with shoes by Aquazzura, jewelry by Logan Hollowell Meghan’s longtime makeup artist Daniel Martin, actor Kristin Davis, entrepreneur Maya Brenner, and influencer Lauren Scruggs Kennedy were also present at the launch event. On her Instagram stories, Brenner posted one video of the duchess clapping alongside Martin and Normant as Lee thanked the attendees, and another of the gospel choir who served as the night’s entertainment.
In a statement to InStyle, the duchess expanded on her reasons to invest in the new haircare line. “Kadi has a mastery of hair health, and her Highbrow Hippie collection is a perfect reflection of that,” Meghan said. “I am so proud to invest in her as a friend and as a female founder.
Normant, who did Meghan’s sleek low bun for her May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, played a pivotal role in launching Lee’s career. “Serge Normant, he changed my life,” Lee told People. “He was the one that was just one day like, ‘I would like you to come with me and do Julia Roberts’s color.’ It was as simple as that.” Lee worked in house at Normant’s salon until she launched her own Venice studio, also named Highbrow Hippie, in 2018.
Following her exit from her role as a working royal, Meghan began growing an investment portfolio of woman-owned businesses, and earlier this year, she announced that she would eventually be launching her own lifestyle brand, American Riviera Orchard. Though gift baskets of branded strawberry jam have made their way to a few of Meghan’s closest pals, the official launch of the brand is yet to be announced, but it will reportedly happen in conjunction with a lifestyle show on Netflix in 2025.
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