Stella McCartney took up the top floor of the Centre Pompidou in Paris for a show titled Stella by Stella, which paid tribute to American painter and sculptor Frank Stella.
As the Stella McCartney Paris Fashon Week show began, models began to file through the building’s Perspex tubes, with the sun-drenched roofs of Paris as their backdrop, as an audio pastiche of American presidents discussing peace and war bellowed over the speakers.
As a result of the Stellas joining forces, a unique (and colourful) collection was born. In dramatic oversized outerwear, McCartney, who is renowned for her simple silhouettes and subtle colours, chose graphic prints and startling patterns. Some of Stella’s classic pieces were even reinterpreted as wearable art, including “Ahab,” a 1988 collage that was “pure and direct from the canvas” on to fluid stretch viscose gowns.
McCartney also created an elegant take on an artist’s working uniform, which included utilitarian jumpsuits remade in deep red velvet with contrast stitching and recycled polyester clip belts, as well as oversized shirting with accentuated chest pockets. The everyday clothing was elevated with belted faux fur jackets with strong shoulders.
Models also carried leather-look bags with tonal chunky Perspex chains in dusty blue, beige, and lilac that were not only both super functional and super cool, but were also made even more chic by being constructed from leather alternatives: one made from grape waste procured from Italian wineries, and the other, Mylo, a mushroom ‘unleather’ produced from mycelium that McCartney has previously worked with.
McCartney dedicated her display to the victims of Ukraine’s war and said that she had donated to CARE, an organisation that provides emergency crisis support to four million Ukrainians – particularly women, children, the elderly, and families. McCartney concluded the show with John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance” as a nod to the conflict.
Watch the Full Stella McCartney AW22 show below.