Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney is a prominent British fashion designer and animal rights activist, known for her commitment to sustainable fashion. Born on September 13, 1971, in London, she is the daughter of musician Sir Paul McCartney and photographer Linda McCartney. McCartney graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1995, later gaining experience at the Paris fashion house Chloé, where she became the creative director in 1997. She is a pioneering figure in eco-friendly fashion, refusing to use leather and fur in her collections.
In 2001, she launched her own eponymous label, which quickly gained recognition on red carpets worldwide. McCartney has collaborated with various brands, including Adidas, and branched out into cosmetics and children’s wear. Her designs often reflect her advocacy for animal rights and sustainability, demonstrated by her use of eco-friendly materials in collections. Over the years, she has received numerous accolades for her work, including being named Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2022. McCartney is also actively involved in charitable efforts, particularly those supporting breast cancer research, following her mother's passing from the disease in 1998.
Stella McCartney
Fashion designer, animal rights activist
- Born: September 13, 1971
- Place of Birth: Place of birth: London, England
Education: Graduated from Central Saint Martins, London, 1995
Significance: Stella McCartney is a British fashion designer and animal rights activist. She honed her skills at the Paris fashion house Chloé before launching her own sustainable clothing line. She also partnered with Adidas to design athletic clothing.
Background
Stella Nina McCartney was born in London, England, on September 13, 1971, and is the daughter of Sir Paul and Linda McCartney. Her father is a famous musician best known as part of the former British rock group the Beatles. The McCartneys did not let their fame get in the way of child rearing, and they shunned the use of nannies and bodyguards. McCartney attended local state schools and Central Saint Martins in London. In her free time, she worked at a part-time job to make spending money. She was interested in fashion at an early age and began to design her own clothing.
At her 1995 graduation, she had her famous friends, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, and Yasmin Le Bon, model her clothing to the dismay of many in the industry. This did not harm her image, however, and a London boutique bought her designs. Soon, celebrities were seen wearing items from her collection.
In 1997, Paris fashion house Chloé chose McCartney to succeed Karl Lagerfeld as creative director. Lagerfeld criticized Chloé for appointing a novice to head the fashion house. He felt it chose her because of her famous name and not her talents.
Life’s Work
McCartney defended her position and worked hard to overhaul Chloé, which was suffering from outdated styles and poor reviews. She redesigned its headquarters to remove the drab gray eighties décor and replaced it with an updated and feminine bohemian style with a nineties flair.
A vegetarian and supporter of animal rights like her mother, McCartney refused to work with materials such as leather and fur. When rumors surfaced that the designer was headed to the Italian label Gucci, many believed these to be untrue because the brand used animal products in many of its designs. Instead, McCartney signed a new contract with Chloé.
Rumors persisted that McCartney was leaving Chloé not to work for Gucci but on her own label. These rumors proved true, and in 2001, she departed Chloé and launched her own, self-titled collection. The line became successful, debuting on red carpets throughout the world. The following year, the designer collaborated on handmade t-shirts with Gary Hume for a charity to benefit an organization that worked for the rights of women in Afghanistan.
McCartney ventured into cosmetics and released her first perfume, Stella, in 2003. The next year, the designer partnered with Adidas to design sportswear and athletic gear under the label Adidas by Stella McCartney. In 2004, she worked with musicians Madonna and Annie Lennox on wardrobes for their respective tours and designed costumes for the film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004).
McCartney partnered with cartoonist Robert Crumb to design t-shirts and artist Jeff Koons to use his artwork on dresses and other accessories for a Paris fashion show in 2006. The designer launched a skin care line that featured organic ingredients in 2007. McCartney next designed a lingerie line and a travel collection with LeSportsac, both of which she debuted in 2008. In 2009, she designed t-shirts for Red Nose Day and worked on a limited collection with artist Peter Blake.
Her next project was the 2010 release of the Falabella handbag, which featured a braided chain. It became very popular and one of her best-selling items. The same year, she launched Stella McCartney Kids, a children’s clothing line designed for children aged newborn to fourteen. She also expanded into eyewear and worked on a costume jewelry collection for Disney in conjunction with the 2010 release of the film Alice in Wonderland.
In 2011, McCartney designed the costumes for the New York City Ballet Ocean’s Kingdom, which was created by her father and Peter Martins. McCartney was named creative director of Great Britain’s Olympic wear, designing uniforms for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The designer received the Order of the British Empire in 2013 for her service in the fashion industry. She designed t-shirts again for the Red Nose Day (2013) and collaborated with actress Gwyneth Paltrow to sell a limited collection on the actress’s website Goop.com. The following year, McCartney launched a sustainable eveningwear collection and worked on special lingerie designs in honor of breast cancer awareness. She also partnered with Canon to design the Linda camera bag in honor of her late mother who was a photographer.
McCartney was appointed creative director of Great Britain’s Olympic wear for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She launched the fragrance, Pop, a light, sweet scent aimed at younger women. Throughout 2016, McCartney continued to work on her label, releasing new collections, including a new swimwear line, a sportswear collection for Adidas, and her first line of menswear.
In 2018, McCartney bought out the stake in her company held by Gucci--by then known as Kering--and took full control of the company. That same year, she designed the wedding reception dress worn by Meghan Markle when she married Britain's Prince Harry. Near the end of the year, she established the Stella McCartney Cares Foundation, which is focused on providing for the needs of those undergoing treatment for breast cancer. That disease claimed the life of McCartney's mother two decades earlier. The 2019 studio album Lover by Taylor Swift inspired the two to collaborate on a fashion line they named "Stella X Taylor Swift".
The launch of McCartney's Spring 2025 during Paris Fashion Week in the autumn of 2024 garnered attention for that fact ninety-one percent of the materials used in the garments and accessories were sustainable. McCartney made a special point of using birds painted on the clothing or otherwise incorporated into the design without using any feathers because the designer feels too many animals, birds in particular, are killed for the sake of fashion every year
Impact
Even though McCartney grew up in the spotlight of her famous father, she worked hard to make a name for herself. Her partnerships with famed designers led to a lucrative fashion career and label of her own. She has received several fashion awards throughout her years of work. McCartney followed the example set by her late mother, Linda, an animal rights activist and vegetarian. She worked sustainable and animal-free products into her designs and refused to use materials such as fur and leather. Her work in this area has been recognized in several ways, including being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2022.
Personal Life
McCartney’s mother, Linda, died of breast cancer in 1998. Since then, McCartney continued to get involved in charities to benefit breast cancer research. McCartney married Alasdhair Willis, a publisher, in 2003. The couple had four children: Miller Alasdhair James, Bailey Linda Olwyn, Beckett Robert Lee (2008), and Reiley Dilys Stella.
Bibliography
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Jones, Sarah. "Stella McCartney Cares Foundation: British designer announces launch of breast cancer charity." Independent, 22 Oct. 2018, www.independent.co.uk/life-style/stella-mccartney-cares-foundation-breast-cancer-charity-mastectomy-bra-idris-elba-a8584426.html. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Scott, Ellen. "First look at Taylor Swift and Stella McCartney’s Fashion Collaboration Inspired by Lover." Metro, 22 Aug. 2019, metro.co.uk/2019/08/22/first-look-taylor-swift-stella-mccartneys-fashion-collaboration-inspired-lover-10612276/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Socha, Miles. "Stella McCartney’s Spring 2025 Show Was Truly for the Birds." Woman's Wear Daily, 30 Sept. 2024, wwd.com/runway/spring-2025/paris/stella-mccartney/review/. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
"Stella McCartney." FMD. Fashion Model Directory, n.d. Web. 11 May 2016.
"Stella McCartney." Glamour. Condé Nast, n.d. Web. 11 May 2016.
"Stella McCartney." Hello! Hello!, n.d Web. 11 May 2016.
"Stella McCartney on Fake Fur, Rihanna, and Well-Fitted Bras." Broadly. Vice Media, 19 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.
Zhang, Jing. "Up Close in Hong Kong with Stella McCartney, a ‘Woman Designing for Women.’" South China Morning Post. South China Morning Post Publishers, 13 Apr. 2016. Web. 11 May 2016.