The entirety of the collection runs expansively from day through to party dressing. In a way, it’s a Stella greatest-hits collection, but composed with consideration for every nuance of utility and enjoyment—and lack of waste. “I paused for a moment with this collection, and looked at everything around me. I think it’s an important time for our brand, to have a real sense of who we are and what we stand for and what we represent in the world of fashion. It was an important question to ask myself, with my design team and everyone at Stella. As much as looking at my family and my heritage, which I’ve done throughout the history of the brand, what’s really important to me is my fashion family at work. We’re a female-dominated workplace. So it’s really like: what do we want to wear? What do we want to take home? What do we want our children to borrow from our wardrobe? How do we want this to be really a part of our life? And what is the Stella life in fashion?”
Together they reaffirmed the core of Stella-ness. Practicality, fun, exactitude of fit—and a collection that spikes sustainability with sexiness. “You can make it what you want to make it, and it’s not wearing you. I don’t want to punish myself anymore. I want to be comfortable,but I want to look cool.” No compromises on fashion impact. She pointed to the big, shiny black bomber jacket. “That’s fungi mycelium mock-croc” in YATAY® M, a biobased vegan material. “It’s [worn] with this beautiful sustainable viscose legging that’s just got a fierceness and edginess to it.”
“I came in with my fabric team, and I was like, guys, I really don’t want to buy fabric, and I don’t want to make fabric, so I want us to fulfill our orders in waste and upcycling and stock. I love working that way. It’s a different kind of challenge creatively. My team enjoys it. We rise to that challenge.” Examples: a melange-gray tailored topcoat, which is “completely dead-stock” fabric, a blurred animal-print coat which is made from recycled polyester that is “actually so light you can just roll it up,” crisp organic cotton shirts, and “forest-friendly” satin viscose.
McCartney’s new Ryder bag, a chic structure based on a saddle-shape (which she launched last month with a party in Holland Park) turns up in various sizes, and in materials including faux suede and other components in her library of vegan leather-substitutes. This pre-fall collection is apparently the brand’s most sustainable yet, “crafted with 99% conscious materials.” Amongst them is the S-Wave Sport trainer, which she’s particularly excited about, featuring uppers in Piñayarn®, a 100% plant-based, recyclable, and biodegradable textile sourced from pineapple leaves, and soles in BioCir® Flex, a compostable, recyclable, and biobased alternative to fossil fuel-based plastics.
