Meghan Markle made quite a splash at her very first Paris Fashion Week appearance in early October. Looking chic in a silky white top with matching trousers and a dramatic cape, the Duchess of Sussex sat front row at Balenciaga's Spring/Summer 2026 runway show and mingled with members of the fashion elite, including famed former Vogue editor in chief Anna Wintour and Balenciaga's new creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli, who custom-designed her outfit. "Meghan was excited [for her] Paris Fashion Week debut," an insider tells Us Weekly. "She was looking forward to the moment. It's a big statement about where she's headed." The Suits alum has been steadily embracing the spotlight more and more in recent months. She launched her Netflix series With Love, Meghan in March and her As Ever lifestyle brand in April, and now she's clearly looking to enter the world of high fashion. (Piccioli revealed in an interview with The Cut that he and Meghan stayed in touch after meeting several years ago and that she reached out to him about attending his first show with Balenciaga.) She was also spotted having drinks with Chloe Malle, the new editor in chief of Vogue, in NYC on October 10, and the Daily Mail reports she'll soon be on the cover of Harper's Bazaar. Over on the girl-boss front, she spoke at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit on October 14 and attended a vegan dinner party thrown by buzzy British entrepreneur Emma Grede (cofounder of Skims and Good American) in L.A. the next day. "Meghan didn't want to just stay [put] in Montecito, and now has more time to do other things," says a second insider. "She wants to get out there, reach out to people and work on her relationships." According to insiders and industry experts, Meghan, 44, is now deliberately repositioning herself as a power player separate from her husband, Prince Harry, 41. While the couple - who accepted the Humanitarians of the Year award at the Project Healthy Minds gala in NYC on Oct. 9 together - remain connected on many causes, she's rebranding as a one-woman show. "This is the first time we're seeing Meghan as an individual brand again," says public relations expert Jane Owen. "It's a shift toward individuality." Adds PR expert Mark Borkowski: "Meghan is no longer half of a royal duo. She's re-emerging as a solo brand: global, aspirational and strategically aloof. The royal chapter was about proximity to power. This one's about reclaiming it." Andrea Cremascoli/Getty Images It could be a mutually beneficial move for Meghan and Harry, who are parents to son Archie, 6, and daughter Lilibet, 4. "It's healthy for them as a couple to have separate spheres, identities and passion projects," says the first insider, noting that the "negative attention" Meghan receives in the press "hasn't been helpful for Harry's work." Aside from a few joint projects, "they will be very [professionally] divided now," adds the insider. "It's what they have been doing all year." Harry has no issue letting Meghan take center stage. "He seems happier doing the quieter, cause-driven work," says Owen. "They're still a team, but they're playing to their own strengths now." Adds royal commentator Amanda Matta: "It's clear that [Meghan's career] is moving forward with a sharper public profile [but] they both know how to share the spotlight when it serves their shared goals." Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Business Deals Since Royal Exit The second insider says Meghan has Harry's full support: "He always thinks she's making the right moves." The first insider agrees that Harry is thrilled his wife has found "something she can sink her teeth into. It's what she successfully did before him, and he believes in the saying, 'Happy wife, happy life.' He's happy not to be involved in that world." Indeed, Harry seems most at home when he's focused on his philanthropic causes. "He thrives when he's [working] with charities, especially the military and kids," notes royal historian Marlene Koenig. "And he has every reason to be proud of the Invictus [Games'] success. This is where he shines... the reality is this is an extension of what he did as a working royal and the life he knows." As Meghan leans into her celebrity lifestyle brand - and distances herself from the royal role she briefly inhabited alongside Harry - it may become more difficult for the pair to win back favor in the duke's native England. Though he remains estranged from his brother, Prince William, 43, Harry has made some progress with his father, King Charles. (Charles, 76, is in treatment for cancer; the father and son had their first face-to-face meeting in 19 months on September 10, when Harry stopped by Clarence House while in the U.K. on a four-day work trip.) "In the royal world, titles, rules and restrained symbolism really matter," explains Matta. "When you swap those for flashy brand deals [and] appearances and contracts, you're signaling a different kind of ambition. " As Harry and Meghan go more Hollywood,