Stella McCartney
Slick with an English irreverence, Stella McCartney is a favourite amongst women from diverse backgrounds; a forward-thinking wardrobe that speaks to women who love fashion but have a lot going on at the same time.
Her designs are known for contrasting the feminine with the masculine, creating a string of ‘it’ dresses from neon florals to sheer polka dots, all the while playing it cool by throwing boyfriend tailoring over the top.
Throughout her career Stella McCartney has always been a staunch supporter of animal rights. She was the first high-fashion designer to create vegan clothes, shunning leather, fur and animal by-products to develop faux leather that looks exactly like the real thing. Hence the success of her chain edged Falabella bag.
Stella McCartney grew up both travelling the world with her parents, Paul and Linda McCartney's group Wings and attending state school like every other British youth. It might be this contrast that informs her label, the opposing forces of pragmatism and living well. Making her first jacket at the age of 13 – tailoring is a Stella signature – her graduate collection was hedonistically catwalked by Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon and Kate Moss. After making Chloé hot property in the late 90s, McCartney launched her own label in 2001 backed by PPR and was made an OBE this year.
"If you try to create something people enjoy and it happens to be made in a responsible way, then that's when you can really strike an incredible balance… You have to be hopeful that people will be more educated in how they buy things, and hopefully more luxury brands will start to think that way on a longer-term basis."
Stella McCartney
