Archived News

Stars turn out for Stella McCartney’s bid to save rainforest

Stella McCartney showed what can be done with upcycled clothes and fabrics in a classy Paris show whose front row was filled with celebrity fans led by Oprah Winfrey. Share

The British designer — a vegan who used the show to launch a #ThereSheGrows Instagram campaign to save the Sumatran rainforest — edged her big belted opening space samurai coat with her shiny “vegetarian leather”, a trick she repeated with some style throughout the collection. Russian supermodel and philanthrophist Natalia Vodianova — now a mother of five — had an “SOS” Earth tattoo inked on her famously high cheekbones with other models carrying similar slogans such as “Green is the new black”.

McCartney has already recruited Hollywood stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore and Rooney Mara as well as singer Pink into the #ThereSheGrows campaign, which involves dedicating a tree to someone special with a heartfelt message.

The show, in the gilded Belle Epoque splendour of the Opera Garnier in the centre of the French capital, began with a voiceover of people dedicating trees to their loved ones. Winfrey said she felt inspired to plant an oak in honour of her mother, Vernita Lee, who died aged 83 in November.

“I already have hundreds in my yard,” she added. In a week when the Paris shows have been more attuned to what women actually wear than usual, McCartney used vintage fabric in a whole swathe of highly desirable dresses, although it was impossible to say what was new and what was not.

One multi-coloured statement cord dress was made from vintage T-shirts that were stripped, knotted and then knitted. A run of feature earrings were inspired by office paperclips.

The co-ed show also featured big burgundy fake fur coats worn with sawn-off Hunter wellington boots, which McCartney claimed were the most sustainable rubber wellies ever made.

Visit Stella McCartney – www.stellamccartney.com