As her father, the legendary Beatles singer Paul McCartney, has been to British rock music, Stella McCartney has emerged as the green ambassador for British fashion design. She was awarded an OBE for her services to the fashion industry by Queen Elizabeth and designed Meghan Markle’s evening gown for her wedding to Prince Harry. 

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McCartney embarked on her journey to sustainability in 2001, when she established her namesake label through a partnership with Kering Group. The venture was preceded by her 14-year tenure at Chloé as one of the earliest female and British creative chiefs taking the helm at a time-honoured French maison.

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Her career in fashion started early, including interning for French couturier Christian Lacroix and an apprenticeship at her father’s tailor, Edward Sexton in Savile Row. Her graduation show at London’s top design school Central Saint Martins had a rock star feel, presented by her supermodel friends Naomi Campbell, Yasmin Le Bon and Kate Moss who strode along to a song written by McCartney’s father, Stella May Day.

Despite the famous family halo, it’s her own unshakeable belief that distinguishes her from the crowd. From the beginning, McCartney, a lifelong vegetarian, steered away from animal products, instead utilising eco-friendly materials including recycled polyester, organic cotton, and regenerated cashmere, distinguishing herself in an industry that’s otherwise filled with leather handbags, fur coats and fluffy feather accessories.

“At first I was criticised; people said I could never have a successful business without using leather or fur. But I think it’s the most modern thing we do as a brand, we challenge the norm.”

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McCartney has proved the critics wrong. As an environmental trailblazer, she has launched various provocative conversations about animal rights, sustainability and fashion’s appalling pollution. Her approach to sustainability has won the hearts and minds of younger consumers, gaining her a forward-thinking reputation as well as commercial success. Her partnership with sporting goods giant Adidas continued for over a decade, bringing the German athletic label more than US$15 million revenue in the first year. 

Running a sustainable fashion business poses a tremendous challenge indeed. The industry is one of the most polluting businesses on earth, responsible for 10 per cent of annual global carbon emissions, more than all international flights and shipping combined, according to research from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The fashion industry operates based on the creed of the more the merrier, designing more, manufacturing more and consuming more. Governments around the world have also largely failed to pass meaningful legislation to protect the environment, or to help those that want to. Current policies often see sustainable companies getting taxed more – the case when Stella McCartney brought faux leather into the United States. 

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“As an industry we need to work together towards changing policy which is one of the goals of our foundation – the Stella McCartney Cares Foundation. I want to encourage everyone to be curious and to question things. We can all be activists and should be. Companies that choose to use sustainable materials such as organic cotton, recycled polyester or other verified inputs could and should be incentivised by legislation and not penalised. There is no reason for us to continue down the path that led us into this environmental emergency and collectively we can reroute and create a better future,” says the designer. 

In the current fashion landscape, less than one per cent of materials used in clothing are recycled into new produce at the end of their life. In the meantime, new unsold stock gets destroyed to protect the brand.

McCartney’s spring/summer 2021 collection, conceived during pandemic lockdown used 65 per cent sustainable materials. The collection (McCartney’s A to Z Manifesto) puts the spotlight on nature and art, and uses repurposed fabrics to minimise waste. The silhouettes exude a much more relaxed feel, pairing bright colours from fuchsia to red with softer tones including coral and nude hues, creating an uplifting spirit. 

“I’m trying to show people that you can have a healthy growing business and still have sustainability at the core of that. The reality is if we don’t start doing it, then we will have no business anyway, you know? We will have no planet to conduct business on – full stop,” says the designer. 

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Before the trials of 2020, McCartney had a transitional 2019. In March, she bought back Kering’s 50 per cent stake in her brand, becoming sole owner. Four months later, luxury conglomerate LVMH took a minority share in the designer’s company, underscoring its dedication to sustainability to meet the growing consciousness among consumers, while McCartney herself retains majority ownership of her label and acts as creative director.

It’s safe to say that McCartney’s unusual upbringing blessed her with her creativity and activism. Her fashion shows are always accompanied by cool tunes, with her father often sat in the front row. She also took inspiration from the Beatles film Yellow Submarine in creating the collection “All Together Now”, a tribute to the iconic band. Her mother, Linda, was a musician too, as well as a photographer and an active animal rights activist.

“I think one of the biggest impacts on me growing up was the fact that I got to travel a lot as a child … going on tour with my parents so some of these images are the late 90s when I was actually on the road with my curly red hair. All natural might I add! It was very much about being in the moment, being in nature, and kind of hardcore 90s fashion. I had this incredible pair of vintage cowboy boots, a lot of bodies and jeans and quite bad styling that’s probably back in!” recalls McCartney. 

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“There have been many challenges along the way and I know we’re not perfect, we are always striving to do better, but I am proud of being able to show that you can create luxury fashion and desirable accessories in a way that is better for the planet and better for the animals without sacrificing style for sustainability,” she says.

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