Stella McCartney
Stella McCartney (1971).
She is en English designer, the daughter of Paul and Linda McCartney. Interested in fashion from an early age, she did work experience in Lacroix’s atelier in Paris at the age of 15. After high school she went to work for Betty Jackson for a brief period and later for English Vogue. She took a degree at Saint Martin’s and while she was there did further work experience with Edward Sexton, a Savile Row tailor.
Stella McCartney Show
She gained notoriety at her graduation fashion show in 1995 by inviting her friends, including Naomi Campbell, to model for her. The paparazzi, who were already out in force because of her famous parents, went wild. Immediately afterwards, she opened her own atelier in the fashionable area of Notting Hill Gate. In 1996, she was chosen by the CEO of Chloé, Mounir Moufarrige, to take over from Lagerfeld as stylistic director of the French fashion house. Lagerfeld, indignant, apparently commented: “Chloé wanted a big name and it got one. In music not in fashion.”
The move, for whatever reason, had the desired effect: that of relaunching the brand at the same time as other Paris firms who had taken on very young English designers. It suffused the collections with novelty and freshness. McCartney’s style for Chloé looked to the past for pretty laces and embroideries, reinterpreted in a decidedly sexy, 1970s Pretty Baby look, with eyes firmly focused on the 1990s.
After launching her own company in April 2001 and joining the Gucci Group at the same time, Stella opened her first store, investing roughly 1.5 million euros in a deconsecrated church in West London, near Portobello Road.
Adidas employed Stella McCartney
Adidas employed Stella McCartney to redesign some historic models. McCartney gave her signature to the Adidas Monza, designed for Formula 1 pilots, and the Boxe Champ Speed. The two styles, made in blue, pink, yellow, orange, and beige, with the three Adidas stripes, carry the Snm brand of all Stella McCartney’s products. The designer, who was soon to be married to the editor of Wallpaper, Alasdhair Willis, sold her house in Notting Hill for 1.5 million pounds and moved to the more elegant area of Belgravia.
Inauguration of the new New York store, in Bruton Street, four storeys of an entirely renovated Edwardian building, previously an art gallery. McCartney joined the Absolut Vodka project with her Absolut Stella, as part of the Absolut Fashion collections (Versace, Gucci, Gaultier).
Alongside Seamus Heaney, Nobel prize for literature, she received an honorary degree from the University of Dundee in Scotland.
The ceremony was held at the Estorick Gallery in North London.
Although her father was not present, Stella dedicated her runway show to him and her siblings. The show began with a remixed version of a song from Mary Poppins. It was an easy to wear and light collection in terms of colors and textiles. Blouses made of ribbons, floaty skirts and tapered, fitted pants. The only eccentric touch was the use of large zips as decoration and inside-out clothes worn back-to-front. Nothing extravagant for the evening, instead simple jersey dresses with some crystal baguette decorations.
The collaboration between McCartney and Adidas continued. A women’s collection called Adidas by Stella McCartney is launched in New York. From February 2005 it has been available in selected stores in Japan, the United States, and Europe.
The collaboration between the English designer and the Swedish giant Hennes & Mauritz is announced. McCartney follows the partnership established between H&M and Karl Lagerfeld. The collection will be called Stella McCartney for H&M and will be made up of 40 pieces for Fall-Winter 2005-6.
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