Stella McCartney RTW Spring 2024
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Monday was market day for Stella McCartney, who turned her show at Paris Fashion Week into a street fair celebrating a few of her favorite things.
The designer took over the Marché Saxe-Breteuil, not far from the Eiffel Tower, and transformed it into Stella’s Sustainable Market for the day. Like regular market hawkers, the minders of the 21 stalls beckoned onlookers with their wares.
More from WWD
Bales of cotton and spools of thread sat next to vintage vinyl records, electric scooters and crafty mirrored brooches made by English artist Andrew Logan. The latter appeared in the show, spelling out the word “Freedom” on a vintage-inspired floral print tea dress.
“It’s just a spirit of youth and life,” McCartney said after the show, explaining that she’s known Logan since she was a child.
Fashion editors made a beeline for the stand with vintage McCartney designs curated by “Euphoria” costume designer Heidi Bivens. After the show, the stalls remained open for trading for several hours.
One of them sold merchandise for Wings, the band formed by the designer’s parents, Paul and Linda McCartney. A T-shirt was priced at 250 euros, but a guitar strap cost just 25 euros. Proceeds were earmarked for the family’s Meat Free Monday Foundation.
The boho rocker look is having a moment, fueled by the success of the Amazon Prime show “Daisy Jones and the Six,” but McCartney needed to look no further than her parents’ wardrobe. “There was a little bit of a collaboration with my dad, this idea of some of the vintage pieces from when I was a child that now my daughter steals off me,” she said.
She channeled the ‘70s influence in designs including a sweeping peach shirtdress (very) loosely draped around the chest, frilly shirts and vegan leather pants with laces down the front.
But this collection was rooted mostly in her own blend of masculine and feminine style: Billowing parachute dresses contrasting with oversize suits and baggy jeans jazzed up with tuxedo cummerbunds, while micro HotPants hinted at a hedonist streak.
Boasting 95 percent responsible materials, it was the label’s most conscious collection to date.
At the Keel Labs stand, cofounder and chief executive officer Tessa Callaghan was preparing to unveil the fruit of six years’ labor. The start-up’s seaweed-based yarn was making its global debut on the runway in the form of a crochet knit dress and tunic dotted with mirrored discs that sent rays of light bouncing off the sidewalk.
“This is the biggest deal,” Callaghan said. “I guarantee I’ll be crying later.”
It summarized the spirit of the collection, which McCartney wanted to be not just eco-friendly but fun.
“I want people to enjoy the Stella McCartney brand. We’re not a heavy, hard, kind of strict and oppressive brand. You know, we’re not telling people what to wear. We’re trying to invite people into our community and have a conversation that’s actually really important,” she said.
For more PFW reviews, click here.
Launch Gallery: Stella McCartney RTW Spring 2024
Best of WWD
