Stella McCartney
Designer, Stella McCartney
Formerly at the creative helm of ChloeÌ, she launched her eponymous lifestyle brand of smartly chic womenswear made without leather or fur.
One of the industryâs leading female designers, Stella McCartney has turned her British take on modern femininity and tailoring into a global brand. As a lifelong vegetarian, McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. After a 17-year partnership with Kering, which owned a 50-percent stake in the label, in 2018 both parties confirmed the split, allowing McCartney to acquire full control of the company.
McCartney entered the fashion industry aged 16, interning at Christian Lacroix. Following Lacroix, McCartney honed her cutting skills at Edward Sexton, a world-famous Savile Row tailor. Having attained her foundation degree from Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, McCartney went on to study at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. A handful of her supermodel friends walked in her 1995 graduation collection presentation, including Kate Moss .
In 1997, McCartney was appointed creative director of Parisian fashion house ChloĂ©, where her easy interpretation of the houseâs codes, fluid tailoring and sense of proportion was met with both commercial and critical success.
In 2001, McCartney showed her first eponymous collection in Paris as a 50/50 joint venture partnership with Kering, the only designer in the Kering group to have had an equal share in their business. Today, the Stella McCartney brand operates 51Â freestanding stores in locations including Manhattan, London, LA and Tokyo. Her collections are distributed in over 77 countries through 800+ wholesale accounts.
As one of the industry's most vocal champions of environmental issues, McCartney is a strong example of the commercial potential of sustainable, ethically minded businesses. Sustainability shapes the companyâs policies, its underlying business model and its brand message.
McCartney is also a sought after collaborator. Since first partnering with adidas in 2004, adidas by Stella McCartney has successfully grown to comprise several athletic disciplines including running, gym, yoga, tennis, swimming, winter sports and cycling. In September 2010, adidas appointed McCartney as Team GBâs creative director for the 2012 Olympics â the first time in the history of the games that a leading fashion designer has designed the apparel for a countryâs team across all competitions. She returned as the Team GB creative director for Rioâs 2016 Olympics.
In 2018, she designed Meghan Markle's mock-necked, fit-and-flare reception dress for her wedding to Prince Harry, for which she received wide press coverage.
McCartney launched her first fragrance Stella in 2003. The designer has since released a new fragrance, POP, aimed at younger girls and a new generation.
McCartney is married to publisher Alasdhair Willis; the couple has four children.
VITAL STATISTICS
What is The BoF 500?
The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
ExploreWhat is The BoF 500?
The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
ExploreThe Start-Ups Fashion Is Still Willing to Bet On
A grim economic climate has tempered enthusiasm for risky investments, but fashion companies and executives like H&M, Kering and Stella McCartney still see opportunity in start-ups pursuing sustainability solutions.
Would You Buy a Mushroom Handbag?
For the first time, brands including Stella McCartney, Balenciaga and HermĂšs are bringing products made of buzzy mushroom-based materials to market, a critical test for whether the next-generation fabrics could one day hit the mainstream.
New York Fashion Act to Test Brandsâ Appetite for Sustainability Regulation
Stella McCartney is among the backers of a new bill before the New York State Assembly that could step up disclosure and due diligence requirements for brands operating in the key market.
What COP26 Means for Fashion
Achieving the ambitions laid out at the UN climate summit that ended this week will require a wholesale transformation of the way the fashion industry operates. Are business leaders ready?
Can Stella McCartney Clean Up Fashion?
The ethical fashion pioneer and LVMH sustainability advisor is trying to change one of the worldâs most polluting industries from the inside.
Can Designers Bring Progressive Values to Big Brands?
Designers like Brendon Babenzien, J.Crewâs new menâs creative director, bring deeply rooted values as well as design skills to their work. But embedding these values into larger organisations can be challenging.
Stella McCartney Is the Keynote Speaker at the BoF Professional Summit
Join us on April 14 for a four-hour live broadcast of interactive conversations on closing fashionâs sustainability gap, with a keynote address by the pioneering designer.
Independent Women Brought Hope to Fashionâs Virtual Spring
Women designers, from Stella McCartney to Sacaiâs Chitose Abe to Tory Burch, brought a sense of hope and purpose to the Spring shows, writes Tim Blanks.
Winners Take All: How LVMH and Kering Will Extend Their Supremacy Post-Pandemic
The family-controlled French giants are well positioned to further dominate the luxury fashion sector. But neither can afford to ignore the threat of disruption.
In the Service of Movement at Stella McCartney
She offered up a collection that filtered illustrator Erté in ways subtle and not so.