Biography
Stella McCartney is an English fashion designer. She was born on September 13, 1971 in Lambeth, London. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Sir Paul McCartney and the photographer and animal rights activist, Linda McCartney. As a young girl, McCartney traveled the globe with her parents and their pop group Wings, along with her siblings. When McCartney was ten years old, the McCartney family settled down on a farm far from the public eye in West Sussex, England. They lived a bucolic life and raised sheep and horses. She never owned a doll as a child, but instead, reveled in riding horses, catching frogs, and exploring the woods. (Aldridge)
The fashion bug hit McCartney early in life. She showed interest in clothing and fashion as a child. McCartney made her first jacket made from an artificial-suede upholstery fabric when she was a teenager. When she was fifteen years old, she became an apprentice to famous high-end French fashion designer Christian Lacroix, without the help of her parents. McCartney started from the very bottom and made her way up by helping put together couture collections, and helping other designers like Betty Jackson. She also had a summer internship in the fashion department of British Vogue. (Aldridge) She studied her foundation at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, fashion design at Central Saint Martin’s College of Art and Design in the early 1990s. In 1995, her graduation collection was modeled by friends and supermodels Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon and Kate Moss at the graduation runway show. The show made front-page news, and the designs were licensed to Browns, Joseph, Bergdorf Goodman and Neiman Marcus.
In March 1997, McCartney was appointed Creative Director of Chloé, following in the footsteps of Karl Lagerfeld. In 2001, McCartney resigned from Chloé in order to enter into a joint venture with Gucci. McCartney now operates sixteen freestanding stores. Her collections are now distributed in over fifty countries through 600 wholesale accounts including specialty shops and department stores. (Aldridge)
"Signature Designs"
(New York Magazine)
(New York Magazine)
(WWD)
(WWD)
(WWD)
(WWD)
Earlier Influences
Growing up in a farmland with an animal activist mother has greatly impacted McCartney’s lifestyle and designs. Her love for nature, land, and animals has influenced her in a strong way. McCartney states that “I’m obviously hugely inspired by how my mom wore clothes, and my dad. But for me, it was more their attitudes. The way he would wear a bespoke suit and beard. The way she would wear a little YSL jacket with a straw vintage dress underneath. It was the attitude before it, that I’m going-to-do-it-my-way, I’m-allowed-to-do-this… mentality.” (Aldridge)
Her mother mixed vintage and modern, something McCartney does consistently in her collections. In a New Yorker article by David Owen, McCartney states that “I remember going into her (mother’s) wardrobe when I was a little girl. She had some old Yves Saint Laurent dresses, but right next to them were all the juxtapositions – an old vintage thirties dress, a pair of platform booths, a T-shirt, then a pair of jeans. That kind of mixture pretty much became my philosophy.” (Aldridge)
Critical Analysis
Stella’s childhood growing up on a farmland with many animals, nature, and her vegan family has inspired her designs. The paintings of Matisse and Magritte also influenced her styles. Her country childhood proved to be an influence on her work. Today it can be seen in the things she takes from the country for inspiration: crystals, flowers and nature itself. (Aldridge) McCartney was a tomboy as a child and her tomboy quality shows in her designs as well, adding a bit if masculinity to her feminine styles.
McCartney has always claimed that she would have been a famous fashion designer even if her father had not been Paul McCartney. However, it has been suggested that owners of the Chloé house, appointed her as much for the wave of publicity the appointment would generate as for her talent. However, some commentators have said that she is capable. Vogue magazine wrote that "her first collection for the house Chloé, shown in Paris in October 1997, quickly dispelled any doubts about her talent.” (New York Magazine) McCartney has received a various amount of rewards such as the VH1/Vogue Designer of the Year Award (2000), Woman of Courage Award (2003), and the Glamour Award for Best Designer of the Year (2004).
In 2009, McCartney was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People under the category Builders and Titans. “She was the only person in the fashion industry to make the list in a year.” (Aldridge) Gwyneth Paltrow says in Time magazine that “Everything about Stella McCartney is authentic. Her red hair is her own. She somehow works tirelessly to create the chic looks that have made her a fashion icon and yet still manages to be home with her three beautiful children at the same time. And she is a vegetarian. She manages to convince you that killing animals is needless and cruel and bad for the environment.” (Aldridge)
Analysis of Future Trends
(Style Sight)
McCartney refuses to design clothes made from animal products. her collections reflect her dedicated views as an animal activist, and instead, she uses faux fur, vinyl, and other alternative textiles to replace materials derived from animals. (Aldridge) Her trend of eco-friendly living through fashion has made her a different type of fashion designer and has indeed gotten her far in this organic striving society we are living in today.
(Style Sight)
McCartney’s masculine, tomboy silhouette and style will be seen as her signature style in fashion history. She has done successful collaborations with H&M and Gap Kids, and she is involved in anti-fur organizations as well. Her name will be marked in the fashion industry, not just as a great fashion designer, but a fantastic business woman and mother.
(WWD)
I own many garments that represent McCartney’s styles from fast fashion retailers like H&M and Forever 21. I appreciate her philosophy of cruelty-free clothing and I am all for it. I admire her outspoken designs. The McCartney name will not be known only for legendary music; now, it will also be known for legendary fashion.
Works Cited
Aldridge, Rebecca. Stella McCartney. New York: Infobase Learning, 2011.
New York Magazine. 1 December 2011 <http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/designer
/bios/stellamccartney/>.
New York Magazine. 1 December 2011 <http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2008/spring
/main/europe/womenrunway/stellamccartney/#>.
Style Sight. 1 December 2011 <http://www.stylesight.com/myfolders
/zoom_image.php?item_id=image.7213975&set={%22node_id%22%3A%20%22folder-
4926-735423%22}&position=0>.
Style Sight. 1 December 2011 <http://www.stylesight.com/myfolders
/zoom_image.php?item_id=image.6609868&set={%22f_limit%22%3A%205%2C%20%22q
%22%3A%20%22stella%20mccartney%22%2C%20%22facets[]%22%3A
%20[]}&position=1863>.
Style Sight. 1 December 2011 <http://www.stylesight.com/myfolders
/zoom_image.php?item_id=image.6110946&set={%22f_limit%22%3A%205%2C%20%22q
%22%3A%20%22stella%20mccartney%22%2C%20%22facets[]%22%3A
%20[]}&position=2062>.
WWD. 1 December 2011 <http://www.wwd.com.subscriptions.fidm.com/search/results
/slideshow/5254481#/slideshow/image/5254481/0>.
WWD. 1 December 2011 <http://www.wwd.com.subscriptions.fidm.com/search/results
/slideshow/3542602#/slideshow/image/3542602/0>.
WWD. 1 December 2011 <http://www.wwd.com.subscriptions.fidm.com/search/results
/slideshow/3103856#/slideshow/image/3103856/0>.
WWD. 1 December 2011 <http://www.wwd.com.subscriptions.fidm.com/search/results
/slideshow/3103873#/slideshow/image/3103873/0>.
