Stella McCartney’s autumn/winter 2026 Paris show, staged inside a horse stable, delivered faux fur power dressing, stirrup trousers, rhinestone denim, and a front row that included Oprah Winfrey and Sir Paul McCartney.
Faux fur, stirrup trousers, rhinestone denim, and a stable full of actual horses — Stella McCartney’s autumn/winter 2026 collection was everything. The celebrities were out in full force, including Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Hannah Waddingham, Baz Luhrmann, and Sir Paul McCartney. But the real scene-setter at Stella McCartney’s autumn/winter 2026 Paris presentation wasn’t the celebrity front row — it was the venue itself.
McCartney staged her collection inside a working stable, with a circular catwalk wrapped around a sand-covered paddock and guests seated along the perimeter as models strode around the track. And then, because this is Stella McCartney, actual horses were released into the center of the arena at the show’s opening, moving calmly through the space as models continued their circuits around them.
The stable wasn’t just a theatrical choice; McCartney, a lifelong vegetarian and one of fashion’s most committed advocates for cruelty-free design, staged her show in a space dedicated to the animal she loves most — the horse, which also happens to be the namesake of her most iconic bag, the Falabella — during the Lunar New Year of the Horse. Presenting a collection made entirely of faux materials in that environment felt, as the designer has always intended her work to feel, completely intentional.
Her recent appointment by King Charles as an ambassador for the Sustainable Markets Initiative, a program designed to encourage businesses to adopt more sustainable practices, gave the show an added layer of cultural weight. Speaking after the show, McCartney was still processing the moment. “I feel really proud, actually. I’m very proud,” she told Suzy Menkes after the show.
Faux fur power dressing
The collection opened with an immediate and confident Eighties energy. Oversized faux fur coats arrived first, layered over sharp two-piece tailoring, with exaggerated shoulders and cinched waists establishing a power-dressing silhouette that McCartney executed with precision. Faux fur trims returned again and again throughout the show — edging blazers, lining coat hems, finishing sleeves.
Post-show, McCartney was characteristically direct about where she stands relative to the rest of the industry. “I’m probably one of the only brands really delivering on the promise to try and have more sustainable fashion in the industry.” She added: ” I would love more people to join me in the conversation in an actual, true, and honest way.” And on whether any of this slows her down: “It’s not like I’m going to stop now.”
This is, of course, a principle McCartney has built her entire brand around since launching her label in 2001. Her training under Edward Sexton — the celebrated Savile Row tailor who dressed her father — has always informed the structural rigidity and clean proportion of her tailoring. That foundation was visible throughout the collection’s opening acts, where top-heavy blazers and slimline trousers kept everything grounded in craft even as the theatrical setting pushed toward spectacle.
The trouser moment
The equestrian references weren’t limited to the venue. Slim-cut suit trousers appeared with jodhpur-style cuffs at the ankle — a subtle, sharp nod to riding culture that felt earned given the setting. Slouchy thigh-high boots extended the equestrian aesthetic into footwear, completing a look that landed somewhere between Savile Row and the stables.
Straight-leg denim also played a significant role in grounding the collection in wearability. Zipped jeans and relaxed denim jackets introduced a practical ease that balanced the more structured tailoring on either side of them, and denim returned later in the show dressed up with chunky rhinestone embellishments — a full-circle moment that took a wardrobe staple from weekend-casual to evening-ready.
McCartney widened her lens considerably. Colorful jacquard patterns and her signature star motifs appeared across knitwear and separates, while sporty rugby shirts introduced a more relaxed, off-duty register. Crochet scarves and sweater vests offered a softer, slightly Seventies-inflected texture. Low-rise trousers with cut-out details and pencil skirts — one of the dominant silhouettes of the season — nodded toward the Nineties revival threading through multiple collections this fashion month.
Some looks carried quiet echoes of Princess Diana’s off-duty wardrobe, particularly in the combinations of slouchy shirts with structured riding boots.
The eveningwear closed the show with momentum. Asymmetrical hems, backless shirts, and high-low skirts gave way to sequined dresses shimmering under the stable lights. Rhinestone embellishments ran across tops, dresses, and denim alike, channeling the maximalist excess of the Eighties — and then one final model walked out in rhinestone jeans and a white vest that read: “My dad is a rock star.” With Sir Paul in the front row, it landed perfectly.
A new accessories prospect also quietly made its case throughout the show: a slouchy bucket-style bag with the silhouette of a saddle satchel appeared on multiple looks, echoing the equestrian theme while telegraphing the kind of commercial potential that made the Falabella what it is today.
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