Stella Nina McCartney (born 13 September 1971) is an English fashion designer. She is a daughter of British singer-songwriter
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...
and the late American photographer and
animals rights activist
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...
. Like her parents, McCartney is a firm supporter of animal rights, environmentalism, and is particularly known for her use of vegetarian and animal-free alternatives in her work.
Early life
McCartney was born on 13 September 1971 at
King's College Hospital in Camberwell, London. She is named after her maternal great-grandmothers (both of Linda's grandmothers were named Stella). Her mother, Linda Eastman McCartney, was of Jewish ancestry.
As a girl, McCartney travelled the globe with her parents and their group
Wings, along with her siblings: older half-sister
Heather (who was legally adopted by Paul), older sister
Mary, and younger brother
James. According to her father, the name of Wings was inspired by Stella's difficult delivery.
[ As his daughter was being born by emergency ]caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or m ...
, Paul sat outside the operating room and prayed that she would be born 'on the wings of an angel'.
Despite their fame, the McCartneys wanted their children to live as normal of a life as possible, so Stella and her siblings attended local state schools in East Sussex
East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...
, one of them being Bexhill College
Bexhill College is a sixth form college in the south-east of England. The college is based in Bexhill-on-Sea, East Sussex and is located on Penland Road, north-east of the town centre. The college has maintained an Ofsted rating of ''Good'' in ...
. McCartney has said that while attending state school, she was a victim of bullying
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an ...
yet had been a bully herself.
Career
Beginning
McCartney became interested in designing clothes as a youth. At the age of 13, she designed her first jacket. Three years later, she interned for Christian Lacroix
Christian Marie Marc Lacroix (; born 16 May 1951) is a French fashion designer. The name may also refer to the company he founded.
Lacroix's designs combine luxury and insouciance. He prefers artisanal trades, fringe, bead, and embroidery. He's ...
, working on her first haute couture
''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...
collection, honing her skills working for Edward Sexton (her father's Savile Row tailor) for a number of years.
McCartney studied her foundation at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication Ravensbourne may refer to:
* Ravensbourne, Queensland, in Australia
* Ravensbourne National Park, in Australia
* Ravensbourne, London, in the London Borough of Bromley
** Ravensbourne railway station, serving the above area
**Ravensbourne (UK Parli ...
, followed by Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins in the early 1990s, graduating in 1995. Her graduation collection was modelled for free by friends and supermodels Naomi Campbell
Naomi Elaine Campbell (born 22 May 1970) is an English model, actress, singer, and businesswoman. She began her career at the age of 15, and established herself amongst the most recognisable and in-demand models of the past four decades. Cam ...
, Yasmin Le Bon and Kate Moss
Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is a British model. Arriving at the end of the "supermodel era", Moss rose to fame in the early 1990s as part of the heroin chic fashion trend. Her collaborations with Calvin Klein brought her to fas ...
, at the graduation runway show, presented to a song especially written by her father, "Stella May Day".
A lifelong vegetarian, McCartney uses no leather or fur in her designs. ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' described her in 2015 as a 'consistent and vocal' supporter of animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...
. Some of McCartney's designs have text that elaborates on her 'no animal' policy; one of her Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...
jackets carries a sleeve that says 'suitable for sporty vegetarians'. A pair of her vinyl and ultrasuede boots were marketed specifically as vegan-friendly, though her use of oil-based synthetics still raised ecological concerns.
Rise to prominence
In 1997, McCartney was named as the creative director of Chloé
Chloé () is a French luxury fashion house founded in 1952 by Gaby Aghion. During the next year of 1953 Aghion joined forces with Jacques Lenoir, formally managing the business side of the brand, allowing Aghion to purely pursue the creative ...
, a position she held until 2001.
In 2001, McCartney launched a fashion house
Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer create ...
under her name, in a joint venture with Gucci
Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragranc ...
Group (now Kering), and presented her first collection in Paris. She now operates 51 freestanding stores in Manhattan's Soho, London's Mayfair, LA's West Hollywood, Paris's Palais Royal, Barcelona's Passeig de Gracia, Milan, Rome, Miami and Houston, among other locations.
In 2003, McCartney launched her first perfume, Stella. In January 2007, she launched a 100% organic skincare line, CARE, which includes seven products, from a cleansing milk made with lemon balm and apricot, to green tea
Green tea is a type of tea that is made from '' Camellia sinensis'' leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process which is used to make oolong teas and black teas. Green tea originated in China, and since th ...
and linden blossom floral water.
In 2008, McCartney launched a new lingerie line with Bendon Group. In November 2010, the Stella McCartney Kids collection was launched for newborns and children up to age 12.
In June 2012, McCartney invited the Soul Rebels Brass Band to perform at her 2013 spring fashion presentation at the New York Marble Cemetery
The New York Marble Cemetery is a burial ground established in 1830 in what is now the East Village of Manhattan. It occupies the interior of the block bounded by 2nd Street, Second Avenue, 3rd Street, and the Bowery. ...
in New York City. Other guests invited to the party included Anne Hathaway, Jim Carrey
James Eugene Carrey (; born January 17, 1962) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian and artist. Known for his energetic slapstick performances, Carrey first gained recognition in 1990, after landing a role in the American sketch comedy t ...
, Anna Wintour, Annie Leibovitz
Anna-Lou Leibovitz ( ; born October 2, 1949) is an American portrait photographer best known for her engaging portraits, particularly of celebrities, which often feature subjects in intimate settings and poses. Leibovitz's Polaroid photo of Jo ...
, Lauren Hutton
Lauren Hutton (born Mary Laurence Hutton; November 17, 1943) is an American model and actress. Born and raised in the southern United States, Hutton relocated to New York City in her early adulthood to begin a modeling career. Though she was ini ...
, Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler (; born September 16, 1971) is an American comedian, actress, writer, producer, and director. After studying improv at Chicago's Second City and ImprovOlympic in the early 1990s, Poehler co-founded the improvisational-comedy tro ...
, Solange Knowles, P'Trique, Greta Gerwig and André Leon Talley. Also in 2012, McCartney was part of ''The Sustainable Fashion Handbook''.
In November 2016, McCartney launched her first menswear collection, made up of many athleisure, pyjama-like casual outfits. She said her father and comedian Jethro inspired the collection.
In April 2018, after 17 years of partnership with Kering, McCartney purchased its stake in her company and took full control of her global fashion empire. The following year, she signed a strategic partnership with LVMH
LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton (), commonly known as LVMH, is a French holding multinational corporation and conglomerate specializing in luxury goods, headquartered in Paris. The company was formed in 1987 through the merger of fashion house ...
. She designed the wedding reception dress worn by Meghan Markle
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (; born Rachel Meghan Markle; August 4, 1981) is an American member of the British royal family and former actress. She is the wife of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, the younger son of King Charles III.
Meghan was ...
, and later created 46 replicas of it (23 in lily white and 23 in onyx black) for her "Made With Love" capsule collection, each priced at £3,500.
On 15 October 2018, McCartney announced the launch of the Stella McCartney Cares Foundation, a charity dedicated to breast cancer. (McCartney's mother Linda died of breast cancer in 1998.) The charity will donate 1,000 of the brand's Louis Listening post-operative mastectomy compression bras to women undergoing breast cancer treatment.
On 21 November 2021, McCartney launched "The Beatles: Get Back" a collection inspired by the Beatles.
Collaborations
McCartney launched a joint-venture line with Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...
, establishing a long-term partnership with the corporation in September 2004. This was a sports performance collection for women.
In January 2010, McCartney announced she would be collaborating with Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
to create a jewellery collection inspired by ''Alice in Wonderland
''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...
''. In July of the same year, together with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and eco-designer Atom cianfarani, McCartney worked to petition the British Ministry of Defence
The Ministry of Defence (MOD or MoD) is the department responsible for implementing the defence policy set by His Majesty's Government, and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.
The MOD states that its principal objectives are to d ...
to cease the use of Canadian Black Bears as the fur for their guards' hats; the military is yet to make the change.
In July 2011, McCartney participated at the catwalk of The Brandery
The Brandery was an urban fashion show, organized from 2009 to 2012 by Fira de Barcelona and held twice a year, in summer and winter.La Vanguardia, 22/06/2010The Brandery cumple un año con nota y un futuro prometedor a pesar de la crisis The firs ...
fashion show in Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
.
In December 2018, McCartney announced the launch of a new fashion industry charter for climate action
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases or removing those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global average temperature is mostly caused by emissions from fossil fuels bur ...
, in collaboration with the United Nations, to help fashion companies welcome sustainable business practices.
In August 2019, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...
teamed up with McCartney to release a fashion line inspired by Swift's seventh studio album ''Lover'', the project carrying the title "Stella X Taylor Swift".
Team GB
In September 2010, McCartney was appointed Team GB's Creative Director for the 2012 Olympics by Adidas – the first time in the games' history that a leading fashion designer designed the apparel for a country's team across all competitions for both the Olympic and the Paralympic Games. In March 2012, the Team GB kit was publicly displayed. McCartney continued in this role for the 2016 Summer Olympics
)
, nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams)
, athletes = 11,238
, events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines)
, opening = 5 August 2016
, closing = 21 August 2016
, opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer
, cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro de ...
.
Honours, awards and media
McCartney received the VH1/''Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
'' Designer of the Year award in 2000 in New York. Her father Paul presented the award to her; she thanked him in her acceptance speech and dedicated the award to her late mother Linda. This was followed by the Woman of Courage Award for work against cancer at the prestigious Unforgettable Evening event (2003, Los Angeles), the ''Glamour'' Award for Best Designer of the Year (2004, London), the Star Honoree at the Fashion Group International Night of the Stars (2004, New York), the Organic Style Woman of the Year Award (2005, New York), the ''Elle'' Style Award for Best Designer of the Year Award (2007, London), Best Designer of the Year at the British Style Awards (2007, London), Best Designer of The Year at the Spanish Elle Awards (2008, Barcelona), and the Green Designer of the Year at the ACE Awards (2008, New York).
In 2009, she was honoured by the NRDC, featured in the Time 100
''Time'' 100 (often stylized as ''TIME'' 100) is an annual listicle of the 100 most influential people in the world, assembled by the American news magazine ''Time''. First published in 1999 as the result of a debate among American academics, p ...
and recognised as ''Glamour'' Woman of the Year. In November 2011, she was presented with the Red Carpet Award by the British Fashion Council; and in the 2013 New Year Honours, she was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(OBE) for services to fashion.
In 2012, McCartney was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his artwork – the album cover for The Beatles' ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...
'' – to celebrate the British cultural figures of his life that he most admires. In February 2013 she was assessed as one of the 100 most powerful women in the United Kingdom by Woman's Hour
''Woman's Hour'' is a radio magazine programme broadcast in the United Kingdom on the BBC Light Programme, BBC Radio 2, and later BBC Radio 4. It has been on the air since 1946.
History
Created by Norman Collins and originally presented ...
on BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
.
In June 2017, McCartney was the guest for BBC Radio 4
BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC that replaced the BBC Home Service in 1967. It broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes, including news, drama, comedy, science and history from the BBC's ...
's ''Desert Island Discs
''Desert Island Discs'' is a radio programme broadcast on BBC Radio 4. It was first broadcast on the BBC Forces Programme on 29 January 1942.
Each week a guest, called a "castaway" during the programme, is asked to choose eight recordings (usua ...
''. Her choices included " Road to Nowhere" by Talking Heads
Talking Heads were an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991.[Talki ...](_blank)
and " Blackbird" by the Beatles
The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...
. Her favourite was "God Only Knows
"God Only Knows" is a song by American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1966 album '' Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson and Tony Asher, it is a Baroque-style love song distinguished for its harmonic innovation and its subversion of typi ...
" by the Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Distinguished by the ...
. She would later receive the Special Recognition Award for Innovation at the 2017 Fashion Awards
She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...
(CBE) in the 2022 Birthday Honours
The 2022 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 15 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as pa ...
for services to fashion and sustainability.
Personal life
McCartney married British publisher Alasdhair Willis on 30 August 2003 at Mount Stuart House
Mount Stuart House, on the east coast of the Isle of Bute, Scotland, is a country house built in the Gothic Revival style and the ancestral home of the Marquesses of Bute. It was designed by Sir Robert Rowand Anderson for the 3rd Marquess in ...
on the Isle of Bute
The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.
Formerly a constituent is ...
. Her wedding dress was an updated version of her mother's wedding dress from 1969. Willis works as creative director of shoewear brand Adidas
Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacture ...
.
McCartney and Willis have four children: sons Miller Alasdhair James Willis (born 2005) and Beckett Robert Lee Willis (born 2008) and daughters Bailey Linda Olwyn Willis (born 2006) and Reiley Dilys Stella Willis (born 2010). Her children appeared with her on the cover of ''Vogue
Vogue may refer to:
Business
* ''Vogue'' (magazine), a US fashion magazine
** British ''Vogue'', a British fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Arabia'', an Arab fashion magazine
** ''Vogue Australia'', an Australian fashion magazine
** ''Vogue China'', ...
''.
McCartney has a younger half-sister
A sibling is a relative that shares at least one parent with the subject. A male sibling is a brother and a female sibling is a sister. A person with no siblings is an only child.
While some circumstances can cause siblings to be raised sepa ...
, Beatrice Milly McCartney, born on 28 October 2003 to her father and his second wife, Heather Mills
Heather Anne Mills (born 12 January 1968) is an English former model, businesswoman and activist.
Mills first came to public attention in 1993 when she was a model and was involved in a traffic collision with a police motorcycle in London. T ...
.
In 2018, McCartney said: "When my mum died, Dad, my brother and I went to see the Maharishi
Maharishi is a Sanskrit word, written as "महर्षि" in Devanagari (formed from the prefix mahā- meaning "great" and r̥ṣi - sage, poet or a singer of sacred hymns), indicating members of the highest order of ancient Indian sages, ...
... I had quite a reaction that I didn't feel in control of. I possibly suppressed my emotions and I started having panic attacks, physical reactions to that loss." She said that transcendental meditation
Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes ...
made an almost instantaneous difference in her ability to cope. "It really did help me at a time when I really needed some help... I didn't want to part with money for it. But, you know, it's probably the best investment I ever made."
See also
* List of animal rights advocates
Advocates of animal rights support the philosophy of animal rights. They believe that many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as in avoiding suffe ...
Bibliography
Vegan Cookery
*McCartney, Linda (with Paul, Mary, and Stella McCartney). ''Linda McCartney's Family Kitchen: Over 90 Plant-Based Recipes to Save the Planet and Nourish the Soul.'' (Voracious/Little, Brown, and Co., 2021)
References
External links
*
*
*
Linda McCartney's Family Kitchen - In Conversation with Paul, Mary and Stella (Paul McCartney Official Channel)
- Interview, Oct 6, 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCartney, Stella
1971 births
Living people
21st-century English businesspeople
21st-century English businesswomen
Adidas people
Alumni of Central Saint Martins
Alumni of Ravensbourne University London
British women fashion designers
English animal rights activists
English businesspeople in fashion
English fashion designers
English people of American descent
English people of German-Jewish descent
English people of Irish descent
English people of Russian-Jewish descent
English women activists
High fashion brands
Jewish fashion designers
Stella
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
People from Camberwell
People from Lambeth
Plant-based diet advocates