Stella McCartney

Stella McCartney was born in London in 1971, daughter of Paul McCartney, one of the main members of the Beatles singing rock group. She was brought up on the family's organic farm and according to her parents, she is very musical, a real comedienne and extremely hard-working.

Stella McCartney was always fascinated by the world of fashion. As a teenager, she would often be found mixing up bits and pieces from some antique clothing markets along with Cerruti or Lacoste, or whatever she could find in her mother's old cupboards. At the age of 13, Stella designed and constructed her first jacket. At 15, she was already a junior apprenticing at Christian Lacroix and soon afterwards, she was awarded a place at St. Martins College of Art. After graduating from Central St. Martins, London, she continued on to a short, unofficial, apprenticeship with Edward Sexton, a Savile Row tailor.

Soon afterwards, Stella was appointed as the Chief Designer at the house of Chloe, taking over from the previous chief Karl Lagerfeld. She started with the Autumn/Winter 1997 collection,  which was an astoundingly brilliant success.

Personally, Stella McCartney is a strict vegetarian and PETA supporter like her mother Linda, who died in 2000. She had a contract with Chloe that she need never work with fur or leather products. All the shoes are made of vinyl or plastics, and all the bags and belts are of fabric or raffia.

Her soft romantic clothes have always been very successful at Chloe. For the Spring 2000 collection, she created several successful designs with cut-work rhinestone necklines and bodices.

In the year 2000, Stella McCartney was approached by Tom Ford of the House of Gucci, with an offer for financial support in order to set up her own label. She agreed to this and subsequently left Chloe. 

Stella launched her new house with the Spring 2002 collection, presenting clothes emblazoned with rhyming Cockney sayings which turned out to be a big hit right from the start. She got her label off to a very good start in front of Domenico de Sole, the boss of the Gucci group, as well as Stella McCartney's partner.

Her brand new 4000 sq ft shop in Manhattan also opened in September 2002, housing her ready-to-wear, shoes and accessories collections. It has an inlaid pool running the length of the store and walls made of hand-painted fabric. There was a fabulous party organized to celebrate the opening.

Find fashion by Stella McCartney @ the following eshops: