Stella McCartney put a spotlight on the impact of overfishing and climate change on the oceans in her Paris runway show on Wednesday (Sept 30), unveiling a Spring/Summer 2027 collection of floaty fabrics, bubble hems and wave motifs.
Killer whales, sharks and dolphins featured on several looks, while models carried transparent handbags with sea creatures such as a starfish inside.
"The fishing industry is stealth, it's war, we're at war with the ocean, we're at war with the creatures that live in there," McCartney, a vegetarian, said after the show, adding that she wanted people to ask themselves: "Sea life or seafood – what's my choice?"
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McCartney's eponymous brand is known for using no leather, unlike most luxury labels, and for investing in more sustainably produced cotton, wool and other materials.
Her handbags are made with leather alternatives produced from mushrooms or grape byproducts sourced from vineyards.
In the leafy gardens of the British ambassador's residence, the show started with a voiceover from British natural historian and broadcaster David Attenborough saying: "We must open our eyes to what is happening right now below the waves – we have drained the life from our ocean."
Models strode down a white runway in low-rise trousers with raised waves embroidered on the hips, tops with voluminous bubble hems, and fluid, sheer blazers and shirts.
The colour palette also evoked ocean life with dresses in aqua and bright blue, and a coral trench coat.
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McCartney, who bought her brand back from luxury giant LVMH at the start of last year, called on big luxury brands to invest in scaling up more sustainable materials like organic cotton or lab-grown wool.
"I think they all have good intentions, I just know that it would help me and smaller brands trying to come up and trying to work in this way, if the big brands just accepted a new way of working and a new supply chain," she said. – Reuters
