Stella McCartney Effortlessly Blends Style and Sustainability

There’s a lot of talk about sustainability these days, but Stella McCartney has always walked the walk. Sustainability has always been central to the mission of the brand—from going leather- and fur-free eons before it was the cool thing to do to thinking about social impact and reducing its own environmental footprint.

In the week leading up to her fall 2019 show, Stella McCartney launched a campaign, #thereshegrows, to raise awareness about the endangered Lueser Ecosystem in the Indonesian rainforest. She enlisted her celebrity friends to post videos on social media, but she also wove the campaign into her show, paving the runway with #thereshegrows tree dedications. And on the runway, model Natalia Vodianova had a little temporary tattoo on her cheek that read SOS, with the planet earth in place of the "O".

The issues at hand are serious, but McCartney doesn’t make her awareness-raising campaigns feel like homework. Her collection was exuberant, showcasing the usual strong shouldered outerwear and slouchy knit dresses in earthy hues of brown, camel, and forest green, with pops of blush and sky blue. Woven and twisted sashes and jewelry, made by acclaimed artist Sheila Hicks using Indigenous weaving techniques, added a joyful, arts and crafts-y vibe. Other crafts elements were scattered throughout the collection, particularly on a woven rainbow look that was made from vintage t-shirts that were ripped into strips and then knotted and knitted together.