About Stella
About Stella
Stella McCartney was born in London to a family of creators who were legendary in public, but ordinary at home. Raised in both the city and the English countryside, she was kept grounded by her late mother and muse Linda – a photographer, vegetarian and animal rights activist whose values and innate appreciation for beauty continue to inspire her today.
She graduated from Central St Martins in 1995, becoming immediately recognisable for her womenswear’s sharp tailoring, bold aesthetics and masculine energy. By 1997, she was appointed the Creative Director of Chloe in Paris and led the house to critical and commercial success.
In 2001, Stella McCartney launched her eponymous luxury fashion house and showed her first collection in Paris that October. A lifelong vegetarian, she has never used leather, feathers, skin or fur in any of her designs since day one – a revolutionary stance, then and now. Since those first seeds were planted, the brand has continued to grow its sustainability thought leadership through material and supply chain innovation, partnerships and more.
Subsequent key highlights for the brand include launching the STELLA fragrance in 2003, the ongoing adidas by Stella McCartney athletic-wear partnership in September 2004 and the first lingerie collection in 2008. In Winter 2009, the iconic Falabella bag was introduced – distinguished by a braided chain detail, the vegan accessory now one of the fashion house’s best-selling items.Stella Kids was also launched that year and the sustainable fashion house additionally expanded into eco-friendly eyewear in 2011.
Stella was appointed Team Great Britain’s Creative Director for the 2012 London Summer Games by adidas – the first time in the history of the games that a leading fashion designer has designed the apparel for a country’s team across all Olympic competitions. In 2016, she launched the new POP fragrance and unveiled her first full swimwear collection. Additionally, Stella was invited to be the adidas Team GB Creative Director again for the Summer 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
The first-ever namesake menswear collection launched in Spring 2017 and Stella designed the first-ever vegan Stan Smith in Fall 2018. That year, she also launched the Stella McCartney Cares Foundation – a non-profit charity platform supporting sustainability and breast cancer awareness, causes personally close to the designer’s heart.
After 17 years of partnership, Stella purchased Kering’s stake in her company in 2018. Later that year, she designed Meghan Markle’s wedding reception dress and partnered with the United Nations on a sustainable fashion charter.
In 2019, Stella McCartney entered into a partnership with LVMH to further develop her brand, while retaining majority ownership. She will also serve as a special advisor on sustainability to Bernard Arnault and the conglomerate’s executive committee. Stella additionally became the first fashion designer ever to appear on the cover American Vogue in January 2020.
With 46 freestanding stores across New York City, London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo, Shanghai and Beijing. Our collections are now sold in 77 nations through 863 specialty shops and department stores, and ship to 40 countries via online.
Timeline
2021
- Launched the world’s first Mylo™️ mycelium leather garments and runway bag
- Released the world's first-ever vegan football boot, in collaboration with adidas and Paul Pogba
- Attended the G7 UK conference and signed the Terra Carta treaty
- Launched the Future of Fashion exhibit at COP26
2020
- Created #Stellavision, a channel for our #StellaCommUnity to come together during lockdown
- Launched our Shared capsule, our first-ever unisex collection
- Launched Stellawear, a sustainable innovation fusing lingerie and swimwear
- First designer to cover American Vogue
2019
- Green Fashion Award Ground Breaker Award, Milan
- WWD Honours Corporate Citizenship Award, New York
- Clio Award for the Breast Cancer Campaign film featuring Idris Elba
- LVMH partnership
- Stella X Taylor Swift collaboration
2018
- BOF Gala Global Voices Award, London
- Honoured by the David Lynch Foundation Women of Vision Luncheon, New York
- Clio Award for “No less a woman” content film
- Stella repurchases Kering’s stake in company
- United Nations Sustainable Fashion Charter
2017
- Presented with Special Recognition Award for Innovation at the Fashion Awards.
2016
- Awarded British Brand of the Year at the ELLE Style Awards.
- First Menswear Collection launch for Spring 2017.
- Launched first complete swim collection combining style with functionality and fit.
- Launched the new fragrance POP; the scent for a new generation of women.
- Designed exclusive lingerie set for Breast Cancer Awareness with a campaign featuring Chelsea Handler .
- Designed Post Double Mastectomy Compression Bra.
- Designed the White Ribbon badge for the campaign to raise awareness on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the Kering Foundation for the fifth year running.
- In the ongoing effort to reduced negative environmental impact the brand only uses Regenerated Cashmere.
- All viscose used in Stella McCartney products is sustainable in the order to help prevent deforestation.
- Announced First Global Environmental Profit and Loss Account for 2015 in which overall environmental impact of materials used reduced by 35% in last three years, whilst enjoying best business performance of the brand since its launch.
2015
- Awarded Brand of the Year at the British Fashion Awards.
- Launched Stellasport, a brand new range in partnership with adidas for action girls.
- Appointed team GB’s Creative Director by adidas for the 2016 Olympic Summer Games & Paralympics in Rio.
- Launched new eyewear licensee partnership with Kering Eyewear.
- Designed exclusive lingerie set for Breast Cancer Awareness month and Post Double Mastectomy Compression Bra.
- Designed the White Ribbon badge for the campaign to raise awareness on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the Kering Foundation for the fourth year running.
- Designed a limited edition t-shirt collection for kids and women for War Child UK, to raise awareness and provide support to some of the most vulnerable children living in conflict zones around the world.
2014
- Women’s Leadership Award, Lincoln Center Corporate Fund, New York.
- Corporate Social Responsibility, Walpole Awards, London.
- Collaborated with English artist Gary Hume for the Autumn 2014 collection featuring his illustrations on ready-to-wear pieces.
- Launched Maleficent by Stella McCartney Kids Capsule Collection.
- Launched the 2014 London Stella McCartney Green Carpet Collection, a sustainable eveningwear collection.
- Joined the Jaguar FEEL XE campaign for the launch of Jaguar’s most fuel efficient car.
- Designed exclusive lingerie set for Breast Cancer Awareness month.
- Collaborated with Canon for the limited edition Linda camera bag.
- Designed the White Ribbon badge for the campaign to raise awareness on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women by the Kering Foundation for the third year running.
- Partnered with NGO Canopy and made the commitment to ensure all viscose and other cellulose fabrics are sustainably certified by 2017.
- First fashion brand to join the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network.
- Joined the Cradle to Cradle Fashion Positive Initiative, a comprehensive program that enables the continuous improvement of the sustainability of products and development of sustainable and innovative materials.
- Launch of the Clevercare initiative, all clothing will feature the clever care logo – a simple reminder to consider the environment when washing and caring for your garments.
2013
- Best International Designer of the Year, The Elle Style Award, London.
- Conscious Award, H&M & Elle Awards, Stockholm.
- Presented with an OBE, Order of the British Empire, award for excellence and service in the fashion industry.
- Designed exclusive t-shirts for the Red Nose Day 2013 campaign to benefit Comic Relief charity in the UK.
- Launched the Stella McCartney x goop capsule collection, a luxury designer collaboration available exclusively on goop.com, the digital and e-commerce site founded by Gwyneth Paltrow.
2012
- British Designer of the Year, Harper’s Bazaar Woman of the Year Awards.
- International Award, Telva magazine’s, Madrid.
- Brand of the Year, Luxury Briefing Awards, London.
- Designer of Year and Brand of the Year, The British Fashion Council, London.
- Honorary Fellowship from the University of the Arts London; funding a new scholarship at Central Saint Martins for designers who adhere to her ethical view.
- Appointed team GB’s Creative Director by adidas for the Olympic Summer Games and Paralympics.
- Partnered with NRDC on their Clean By Design program, the first luxury brand to participate and bring the program to Europe.
2011
- Red Carpet Award, The British Fashion Council, London.
- Created the costumes for the New York City Ballet’s Ocean’s Kingdom , the ballet collaboration between Paul McCartney and Peter Martins which premiered in New York.
- Launched an ongoing partnership with the International Trade Center’s Ethical Fashion Program (ITC) creating accessories hand made from printing to stitching in Kenya.
2010
- Launched limited edition costume jewelry in collaboration with Disney in celebration of the Tim Burton film Alice In Wonderland.
2009
- Honoured by the Natural Resources and Defense Council, New York.
- Featured in the Time 100, New York.
- Named a Woman of the Year, Glamour magazine Women of the Year Awards, New York.
- Launched the 2 season collaboration collection of Stella McCartney for Gap Kids.
- Designed exclusive t-shirts for the Red Nose Day 2009 campaign to benefit Comic Relief charity in the UK.
- Launched MEAT FREE MONDAY, an awareness campaign in the UK.
- Designed a capsule collection featuring limited edition prints by artist Peter Blake for Net-a-porter.
2008
- Best Designer of The Year, The Spanish Elle Awards, Barcelona.
- Green Designer of the Year, ACE Awards, New York.
- Launched a one-off limited edition travel collection with LeSportsac.
2007
- International Designer of the Year, ELLE Style Awards, London.
- Best Designer of the Year, The ELLE Style Awards, London.
- Best Designer of The Year, The British Style Awards, London.
- Launched care by Stella McCartney, the first luxury skincare range with 100% organic active ingredients.
- Launched an organic capsule collection for Barneys New York.
2006
- Collaborated with artist Jeff Koons on Spring/Summer 2006 collection using his prints on dresses and accessories shown in Paris.
2005
- Woman of the Year, Organic Style, New York.
- The hugely successful one-off collection “Stella McCartney for H&M” sold out worldwide in record time.
- Collaborated with cartoonist Robert Crumb on a limited edition t-shirt.
- Launched adidas by Stella McCartney, a collection of high performance sportswear for women across a wide range of disciplines including running, yoga, tennis and swim.
2004
- Best Designer of the Year, The Glamour Awards, London.
- Star Honouree, Fashion Group International Night of Stars, New York.
- Designed specially made costumes for Madonna’s Reinvention Tour, Annie Lennox’s summer concert tour and the wardrobe for Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law in the film, “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.”
2003
- Woman of Courage honoree, Unforgettable Evening event, Los Angeles.
- Launched Absolut Stella campaign with illustrations by David Remfry also featured in her own brand’s ad campaign that same year.
2002
- Style Icon, Elle Style Awards, London.
- Collaborated with artist Gary Hume in handmade t-shirts for a silent auction to benefit RAWA, an organisation for Afghan women’s rights, at the Thaddeus Ropac gallery in Paris.
2000
- Designer of the Year, The Rover British Fashion Awards, London.
- Designer of the Year, VH1/Vogue Fashion and Music Awards, New York.
1999
- British Designer of the Year, The ELLE Style Awards, London.