Silky vegan bomber jackets, luxe faux fur, vegan leather bags and boots bring a glittery, glam reprieve to lockdown sweatpants in Stella McCartney’s winter21 collection.
In one of the brand’s most sustainable collections to date, Stella McCartney is taking a big step away from comfort wear of the past 18 months and embracing a return to club-going celebrations with sustainable glitter, silk, and fur.
The new collection bridges glam of yesteryear—think Halston at Studio 54—but with a slightly muted modern upgrade. You could call it a COVID-era humility.
“There was an energy I wanted to capture,” McCartney said of the collection. “It was a collection born out of wanting to feel alive, in the moment and brave.”
Brave, but not reckless. The collection anticipates a COVID-free winter season where we’re wearing clothes out of the house, with partywear-ready looks like the cocoon jackets, made with PVC-free glitter lurex, and sequined dresses “to deliver a ’90s London club-kid attitude.” But they’re comforting, too.
‘Light and Texture’
“Light and texture interact with kaleidoscopic and heritage prints in voluminous proportions, reflecting a collective desire for joy, opulence and glamour,” reads the website.
The bomber jackets are made from silky regenerated nylon, “bringing a more grunge-glam clash of materials and textures,” alongside vegan fur-free fur coats and soft lumberjack dresses with contrast ribbing.
“Blending reality with fantasy, the new Winter 2021 collection embodies a playful dichotomy between functional luxury and frivolity,” reads the website. “Taking the excitement and ritual of getting dressed up and going out once again, our Stella woman is empowered to experiment with her extravagance through conscious pieces inspired by ‘D is for Desire’ from our McCartney A to Z Manifesto. Legendary fashion photographers Mert & Marcus capture the collection’s eco edge, made from 77% sustainable materials.”
The collection also includes the Duck boot family, a shoe McCartney says is “taking a step forward” for sustainability. The chain-link wrapped shoe features a solvent-free, biodegradable sole. Heeled options feature a handmade duck-boot toe elevated by a chunky block heel sourced from recycled ABS plugs and a sole made partially from waste materials. McCartney never uses animal leather, a move that’s part of the brand’s cruelty-free ethos.
The vegan leather Frayme handbag and the Hobo bags come in bold colors and smaller sizes.
“This season I wanted the Stella girl to shine,” McCartney said pre-show in March. “This is a season to be explosive, and not to apologize for who you are, what you love, and what you wear.”
Stella McCartney Sustainabilty
McCartney used much of her lockdown time to further clarify the brand’s sustainability commitments. They’ve been in place since day one—20 years and counting. She created the brand’s “A to Z Manifesto” over the last year. It outlines every sustainable move in the last two decades including its shift away from animal materials (the brand has never used leather or fur), and the inclusion of novel fabrics and materials.
“We are committed to always being responsible, honest and accountable today, with a positive impact on people, the planet and all its creatures so that we can protect it for tomorrow,” it reads.
Over the past two decades, McCartney has embraced organic cotton, recylced polyester and nylon, and found innovative ways to work with nascent textiles, including becoming the first brand to produce garments made with Evrnu’s NuCycle™ yarn and KOBA® Fur Free Fur, a sustainable, recyclable animal alternative made from recycled polyester and plant-based plastic.
Fabric innovation continues to drive the brand, but McCartney’s commitments to sustainability don’t just start and end with materials.
“As a sustainable luxury fashion brand, we often find ourselves talking about products and the planet, but it is people who make it all happen—from the farmers who grow our materials to the conscious consumers who purchase them,” the site explains.
“We understand that as a business, we have a responsibility to respect human rights. We follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights to guide us towards best practice in this area. We believe everybody in our supply chain should be treated with respect and dignity. We also believe each person should earn a fair wage and be recognised and valued equally,” the Manifesto reads. “We aim to build modern and resilient supply chains that provide desirable jobs, foster people’s skills, strengthen workers’ voices and advocate for vulnerable groups. “
The winter collection is available to shop now.
