“I was sitting in my house, trying to fit things on myself. We were sending packages to each others’ homes, taking selfie videos.” Stella McCartney’s resort collection was made—before her summer 2021 one—at the height, or in the depths, of lockdown. For several weeks, her team had been using stock fabric and pieces of sample materials that had been stored up because, McCartney said, “we don’t landfill or burn anything.” And out of that whole experience came this collection, and the writing of her recently published Manifesto, in which she consolidated all her principles, and broke them down into an A-Z list.
It’s fitting then, that the first look, a patchworked fake-fur coat “made with fabrics from many collections” goes right back to what started McCartney out on the path to “sustainability”—her determination to show that good-looking fashion can be made without cruelty to animals. The A in Stella McCartney’s lexicon stands for accountability—which means pledging to come through on stated promises, and publishing reports on how and whether those goals have been reached. Which is as honest and open as any designer, house, or brand can be—and puts McCartney in the simultaneous position of being both the leader in the field, and the one who is the most boldly self-critical in admitting how far there is to go.
So, if even Stella McCartney has decided to step up on controlling waste, editing down looks, veering away from virgin materials, and stating where everything is sourced—the urgency is real. “In 2020, ‘reduce and focus’ is a mantra for me. I think that’s a really good point to be at in every corner of life now. I was thinking about paring back, reducing what we do in general as a brand even before the pandemic. We never throw materials away or burn them. We looked at our warehousing, saw what we’ve got in stock, repurposed and reused it.” She even uttered the phrase “buy less, wear more!”—a blasphemy against the fashion cycle. A good one to hear, though—if, that is, we may all agree that reining in our own galloping consumption, slowing down, and making wise choices is the only way forward?
That’s why this collection could be read less as a themed thing, than a focused résumé of what Stella McCartney does best. Designing timelessness and usefulness into her clothes—her tailoring, made of certified wool raised on a particular farm in New Zealand. Going forward with science and technology—the first vegan Stan Smiths; over-the-knee boots made with recycled wood soles. Being sexy—turning out short dresses, made of reappropriated lace. Enjoying blasts of being silly and playful—the animal outfits which ended the finale parade of her last runway show in March, back at “home,” celebrating H for humor in the Stella McCartney lexicon.
