Designer Stella McCartney receives the Légion d’Honneur — France’s highest honor — from President Macron.
Two days after ten horses trotted into a riding hall in the Bois de Boulogne to open her Fall/Winter 2026 show at Paris Fashion Week, Stella McCartney found herself at the Élysée Palace on Thursday evening, receiving France’s most prestigious distinction. President Emmanuel Macron pinned the Légion d’honneur’s red ribbon and green-and-white medallion directly onto her dark blue, faux fur-trimmed skirt suit — a not-so-subtle wink to the very values the honor was celebrating — in recognition of her contributions to fashion, sustainability, innovation, and animal welfare.
The ceremony was a family affair, held at the Élysée Palace, with Sir Paul McCartney, husband Alasdhair Willis, sister Mary, brother James, and the designer’s two youngest children all present. Also in the room: Anna Wintour (herself a Légion d’honneur recipient since 2011), Naomi Watts, Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, and LVMH’s Delphine and Antoine Arnault. Macron spoke at length about McCartney’s fashion career, her efforts in sustainability, environmental conservation, and animal rights, as well as her dedication to her family — praising the “shared values” between McCartney and France. “You love France and our country loves you back,” Macron said. He even, joked that the honor was truly “limited-edition.”
McCartney, for her part, was characteristically direct and generous in her response. “I am so deeply honored to receive the Légion d’honneur,” said McCartney. “France is a country that has shaped so much of my life and career… this city has always welcomed and supported me, but also challenged and inspired me. This recognition is not just for me, but for my family, my team, the innovators, and the partners who have worked tirelessly and passionately to prove that fashion can be both desirable and responsible. It’s also recognition that luxury fashion houses can think about fashion in a conscious, passionate way without having to compromise on beauty — we are proof. There is still so much to do, but I am still hopeful — and still determined — that together we can reshape our industry to serve nature, all living creatures and future generations.”
What the week in Paris looked like first
The Légion d’honneur capped what had already been a landmark week. McCartney staged her Winter 2026 show Wednesday inside a riding hall in the Bois de Boulogne, marking the Lunar New Year of the Horse with what amounted to a sustainability manifesto: fashion can celebrate animals rather than consume them. No leather. No fur. No feathers. No compromise. Ten horses — five black, five white — entered the sand ring ahead of the models, setting the tone. Chunky fisherman rib knits and hand-crocheted scarves nodded to a childhood on the Mull of Kintyre with parents Paul and Linda McCartney. Jewel-toned stirrup leggings and silky bow-adorned dresses recalled her teenage internships at Lacroix and Yves Saint Laurent — formative Parisian years that she says sealed her fate as a designer. Soft tailoring with defined shoulders, satin evening pieces, and plastic-free sequined dresses with bustles and pleats rounded out the collection, and the final model walked out in a tank top reading “My Dad Is A Rockstar.” In the front row, Paul McCartney — former Beatle, eternal rock star, proud father — applauded. Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, and Hannah Waddingham were also among those who turned out.
The morning before the show, McCartney seemed almost casual about what was coming. “I forget that I’m one of the few women designing for women,” McCartney said. “I want to feel like I’m actually really embracing women through these collections, and I don’t want the planet to suffer because of it.”
A Paris story 25 years in the making
McCartney’s relationship with France long predates her own label. After an internship with Christian Lacroix and her appointment as creative director at Chloé in 1997, she has remained a fixture on the Paris Fashion Week calendar. Her brand, founded in 2001, operated under a partnership with Kering for 17 years before a strategic collaboration with LVMH began in 2019. After buying back control of her company from LVMH, she retained links with the group as global ambassador on sustainability, advising CEO Bernard Arnault and his executives.
The Légion d’honneur — the most prestigious French national order of merit, originally established in 1802 by Napoleon Bonaparte — is not McCartney’s first major institutional recognition. In 2022, McCartney was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE. She received her OBE, or Order of the British Empire award, from the queen in 2013. More recently, she was named an ambassador of the Sustainable Markets Initiative, set up by King Charles to push sustainability to the center of global business strategy. “The Sustainable Markets Initiative is an organization I have proudly supported since its inception in 2020, and I am so grateful to His Majesty for this recognition. For me, the most important thing about the SMI is that its focus goes beyond discussion to driving action,” said McCartney.
Beyond her collections, McCartney has channeled her advocacy into the SOS Fund, which backs early-stage innovators working to reduce fashion’s environmental footprint, and maintains longstanding ties with organizations including PETA. The horses in the sand ring, the faux fur on her collar at the Élysée, the honor on her chest — is a conviction she has held since the beginning: that beauty and responsibility are not a trade-off.
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