Stella McCartney staged her fall show in a greenhouse and added a subliminal message about the urgency of the climate crisis to the environmental manifesto that preceded her show; Olivia Colman and Helen Mirren read a moving letter from Mother Earth that asks: “Don't you love me anymore?”
Video monitors showed icebergs collapsing, clouds boiling, and mountains stripped of their forests.
The British designer invites women to join her cause by embracing her loose, masculine tailoring, here with more swagger than ever; Her minimalist knit dresses hung from her shoulders like drumsticks, and her coats, jackets, and skirts were made from eco-leather that is a spitting image of the real thing, minus the dead animals.
She presented a fierce trench coat with a very convincing mock crocodile and offered fur-like surfaces, including the pink teddy bear coat that opened the show and her colorful knitted scarves and dresses.
McCartney's polished and slyly glamorous collection proved that sequins and crystal embellishments are sustainably possible, the former free of plastics and PVC, the latter lead-free.
“Green data” provided after the show detailed that 90 percent of McCartney's latest collection was made with “responsible materials,” while his chain-edged Falabella bags now come coated with Airlite, which is said to actively purify the that we breathe.
Backstage, after hugging her father, Sir Paul McCartney, and posing for photos with Ringo Star, MIA and Charlotte Rampling, the designer spoke about her continuing obsession with Savile Row tailoring: getting her sleeves to fit perfectly and her full leg pants. ride on a certain part of the hips.
He said his fall show was about scale and powerful shoulders. “It's a pretty powerful, outsized situation, a bit David Byrne,” he admitted, referring to the Talking Heads frontman in his “Stop Making Sense” days.
“Joy, boldness in color, but wearable,” was how he summed up the collection, which offered everyday clothing as well as fun items like jeans with eco-leather chaps or silver sequins.
A large number of LVMH executives attended, including the new head of the LVMH Fashion Group, Michael Burke, the group's CEO, Toni Belloni, the director of human resources and synergies, Chantal Gaimperle, and Amandine Ohayon, who attended her Stella McCartney's first show as CEO.
Backstage, McCartney said having the French luxury group as a minority investor is not lost on him.
“I firmly believe in infiltration from within. I mean, I'm with the biggest brands in the world, I'm fighting inside and they're very open to it,” she said. “I am very encouraged.
“We're aware and connected, and it's a solutions-driven brand,” she continued, brushing off suggestions that she's angry at the world. “I want to have a feeling of positivity…Use fashion to lift people up.”
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