Classics with a carefree, sexy edge give Mccartney animal magnetism

Backstage after her show in the chilly but historic military equestrian school in Paris, Stella Mccartney is irrepressible. She’s been fighting against animal cruelty in fashion for nearly 30 years and confesses to being “devastated” by all the leather and feathers on other catwalks this season.

According to Peta, more than one billion animals are killed for the global leather industry every year, while leather tanning still mainly requires toxic chemicals harmful to humans and the industry. But rather than walking away from the industry in despair, she is doubling down.

It’s more than three years since she sold 50 per cent of her company to the luxury leviathan LVMH. Under the deal, she has access to state-of-the-art technologies and research.

Her new collection features Mirum, a plastic-free, plant-based leather alternative, along with bags made from apple and grape skins. Also new: a white mushroom (or mycelium) derived bag.

It’s the first time mushroom skins have been available in anything other than black. “It sounds small, but it’s a big step,” she says. “We’re making progress every season.”

She also has influence as a sustainability adviser to LVMH, which owns Dior, Celine, Fendi (a house that originated in fur), Givenchy, Loewe, Kenzo, Loro Piana and Marc Jacobs. Any sign of enlightenment there?

“Yes,” she says. “You’ll start to see some new developments later this year”. Meanwhile, on her catwalk, as her models marched along the sandy ring, half a dozen grey horses separated from the main catwalk by a single rope performed a magical sequence of synchronised movements that at times risked distracting from the clothes. Never work with animals. But the clothes – mainly black, red, cream and tobacco, held their own in the end. Oversized, cinched-in, checked jackets with big shoulders, shrunken waistcoats, low-slung trousers, strapless dresses that riffed off traditional gabardine trenches, teeny mini skirts worn with thigh-high rubber-based boots, horse prints, slinky one-shoulder column dresses and desirable ankle-length coats… this is a return to what Mccartney does best: classics with a carefree, sexy attitude.

“The only animals you’ll ever see on our catwalk are alive,” Mccartney said, in what sounded like a challenge to other fashion houses. “This is about showing you can live in harmony with animals and the environment and still wear great clothes.”

‘It shows you can live in harmony with animals and the environment and still wear great clothes’