Meghan and Clare Waight Keller – now creative director at Uniqlo and formerly of Givenchy — collaborated on one of the most meaningful dresses of Meghan’s life.

Meghan Markle is speaking out in support of her wedding dress designer Clare Waight Keller’s latest business venture.

Waight Keller, who was with the fashion house Givenchy at the time of Meghan’s royal wedding to Prince Harry on May 19, 2018, left the house in 2020 and is now the new creative director of Uniqlo. Her capsule collection, Uniqlo: C, has a famous fan in the Duchess of Sussex, 43, who told The New York Times that she owns several of Waight Keller’s Uniqlo pieces — including a trench coat and several dresses.

“Her pieces for the brand have movement and modern grace,” Meghan told the outlet.

She and Waight Keller have remained close since her wedding over six years ago and share “a beautiful friendship,” Meghan added.

Meghan Markle on her wedding day to Prince Harry on May 19, 2018, wearing a Givenchy creation designed by creative director Clare Waight Keller. 

In 2018, the same year that Meghan married Harry and one year after joining the house, Waight Keller’s first couture collection for Givenchy was critically acclaimed. As PEOPLE previously reported, Meghan and Waight Keller worked together for six months to create the long-sleeved, boat neck gown and Meghan’s 16-foot long veil. Meghan’s wedding dress elevated Waight Keller’s position to an even higher level, and she was the first woman to hold the job as creative director at the French fashion house. She left Givenchy in April 2020 after three years.

“Every time I make a career move, I feel my choices take people by surprise,” Waight Keller told The New York Times. Of her time at Givenchy, Waight Keller added, “I thought, you know, maybe it can just be a short chapter at Givenchy. Maybe short is actually kind of gorgeous.”

The first Uniqlo: C collection debuted in September 2023, followed by a second this past March.

In November 2023, the British designer took part in a panel at the 2023 Bazaar At Work Summit in London, where Waight Keller spoke about working with Meghan ahead of her wedding day.

“It was just a pleasure to create in this very, very private way,” she said. “It was just the two of us for so long, and it became this very personal girlfriend relationship.”

Speaking to reporters at Kensington Palace in May 2018, Waight Keller said the bespoke gown was a “very collaborative” effort.

Meghan Markle leaves St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after her wedding to Prince Harry on May 19, 2018. 

“It was an extraordinary moment,” Waight Keller said at the time. “It was an incredible thing to be part of, such an historic moment and, in fact, to have the opportunity to work with her.”

When it came to choosing who would design her dress, Meghan had a point of view: “I wanted a female designer, that was very important, I wanted a British designer because I wanted to embrace my new home in that way,” Meghan previously said. “I wanted [a dress] that felt reflective of the world in a way.”

After her wedding and while still a working member of the royal family, Meghan continued working with Waight Keller, including wearing one of her designs — a cream wool cape dress — on her first engagement with Queen Elizabeth in 2018. In December 2018, Meghan presented Waight Keller with the British Designer of the Year Award at the British Fashion Awards in London, and Waight Keller thanked Meghan for trusting her to design such a monumental piece for her.

Meghan Markle and Clare Waight Keller at the 2018 British Fashion Awards in London. 

“I got to know Meghan on such a personal level,” Waight Keller said at the time. “To have someone like that trust you in an incredible moment in their life is something that is just the most unbelievable honor. I can’t thank you enough, because it was the most beautiful moment.”

In 2020, Waight Keller reflected on the process of designing Meghan’s wedding dress in a lengthy Instagram post.

“Two years ago today I was in the final fittings for a very secret dress,” she wrote. “So many emotions were running through me during those months leading up to the big day.”

She added, “A wedding dress is one of the most exquisite and beautiful moments for a designer, but also personally as a woman artist, creator there is a lot of sensitivity that flows through the process from the knowledge and understanding of the feelings that you have as a bride. It’s a unique point of view when you have been through it yourself, as I did at my wedding to my beloved husband 20 years ago, you remember every moment so clearly and realize the significance of every detail and decision.”

“In so many ways you are capturing dreams, that as a girl and as you become a woman you will have been thinking about for years,” she continued. “Learning to let go of my emotions and embrace the feelings of someone you are designing for brings about an incredibly beautiful relationship of trust and intimacy.”

Meghan Markle on her May 19, 2018 wedding day to Prince Harry wearing Givenchy by Clare Waight Keller. 

Waight Keller has previously said that being part of Meghan’s wedding day to Prince Harry “will truly be the most memorable moment” in her career.

Earlier this year, Meghan and Waight Keller grabbed lunch at Cipriani in Beverly Hills, right around the time of Waight Keller’s latest Uniqlo: C drop, PEOPLE previously reported.