As well as championing Cesta Collective’s bags, Meghan has now invested a minority stake in the company. It’s easy to see why the Duchess is such a fan of the brand, given the mission its founders set out with. After being introduced by a mutual friend, Fasciano, a former fashion editor, and Ryder, then a brand director, quickly bonded over their disillusionment with the fashion industry. “We decided that instead of both leaving the industry altogether, why don’t we harness our skills for good, and do something we can feel really proud about?” Ryder recalls.
The pair became interested in supporting handcraft, and specifically, the art of basket weaving. “It’s a huge source of economic independence for women around the world,” Fasciano explains. “A lot of the women that we work with do their weaving at home, so they’re able to care for their children and livestock, and have a meaningful impact on their families.”
They began working with a female co-operative in Rwanda to make their brand’s bags, with the weavers themselves setting the prices (working out to around 500 to 700% of the national average salary, according to the founders). Many of the artisans actually grow the sisal used to weave the baskets themselves, as well as using organic vegetables to dye the material. “Everything is custom done to our specifications,” Fasciano notes, adding that the bags are finished in Sicily by leather artisans.