Stella McCartney – The brand
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As the daughter of The Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney, Stella’s star power was evident from a young age. Brought up in London Stella attended the esteemed Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, graduating in 1995. As a teenager she had previously worked with Christian Lacroix and also on Savile Row.
Her graduation show saw Stella’s first collection. It was a nail biting event for Stella, who was keen to prove herself as a real fashion designer, being able to have merit in the industry without her famous surname. With her parents sat in the front row, and supermodel friends Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell walking the runway, the show was well received by the fashion press. Stella’s sharp, sexy tailoring paired confident femininity echoed throughout her first collection. She launched her own line the same year.
After only two collections under her eponymous label, Stella was appointed as creative director for Chloe. She was a boost to the company, improving sales and updating their reputation. By 2001 Stella left Chloe with Phoebe Philo taking over.
Stella focused on her own line, developing the brand outside of women’s ready to wear to include accessories, eyewear, fragrance and the world’s first organic luxury skincare brand.
Like her mother Linda McCartney, Stella has been a lifelong vegetarian, and her belief in lessening animal cruelty translates over to her fashion range. Stella is firm in ensuring no leathers, furs or other animal materials are ever used in her collections. Her use of eco friendly material has seen her receive a number of awards for being a Green designer, and a great one too.
Stella McCartney – Classic Styles
Renowned for her delicate, sweet style Stella McCartney’s signature pastel silks sexily drape over the body, with sharper rock influences peeking through every now and then, no thanks to her musical upbringing. Tough tailored trench coats, floaty floral prints and supreme cotton knitted cardigans are just a handful of the delights you’d expect to find in Stella McCartney’s ready to wear collection.
Venturing outside the world of high fashion has seen Stella collaborate with artists Gary Hume, Robert Crumb and Jeff Koons, who allowed Stella to use his prints on some of her dresses and accessories in her 2006 collection. Previous projects have also thrived. In 2004 Stella McCartney teamed up with sports giant Adidas to create feminine sportswear that women would actually enjoy wearing to the gym. The Adidas by Stella McCartney range still continues today, with collections including everything for swim, dance, yoga, tennis, golf and winter sports. 2005 saw Stella breaking records; with her one off limited edition collection for high street chain H&M selling out in record time.
An established fragrance collection including the perfumes Stella and Stella In Two saw a revolution in the beauty industry by a unique way in customising fragrances. Stella In Two split the fragrant notes of the original Stella perfume into both liquid and solid perfume forms, allowing wearers to customise the layers of fragrance through the two different floral notes. In 2007, Stella launched her organic skin care brand CARE. It took over three years to develop; working with Parisian cosmetics house YSL Beaute, CARE uses only 100% organic active ingredients.
More recent developments by Stella McCartney include a beautiful lingerie collection and other limited collections, including travelling goods.
