Stella McCartney pushes animal-free fashion message at Pompidou Centre show

By Mimosa Spencer

Stella McCartney sat her audience outdoors in a courtyard of the Centre Pompidou Monday, sending out a sensual lineup of fluid dresses and smart, low-waisted trousers, accessorised with handbags made from a leather alternative.

“We are proud to be eco-weirdos, and hope you will join us in our mission to end the needless deaths of animals for fashion,” McCartney wrote in show notes, detailing environmental costs related to using hides like water use, Amazon deforestation and carcinogenic tanning chemicals.

Pressure continues to mount on fashion labels to improve their environmental credentials, particularly with younger generations who are increasingly embracing second-hand clothing.

A model in flaming red hair marched down the runway with an ivory sweater dotted with holes and slightly unravelled at the hem — stamped with the message “Change the history”, in red letters.

Jeans also had tattered hemlines, and patches of vegan leather for a chaps-like effect, but otherwise the collection was highly polished, with satin asymmetric dresses and smart suits in bright colours.

Models criss-crossed the courtyard on paths in yellow, red or blue, in front of the modern art institution’s facade of jumbled pipes.

The audience extended beyond the fashion set, and included artist Jeff Koons, former basketball star Tony Parker and actor Jerry Seinfeld, while the designer’s father, Paul McCartney, sat next to LVMH chairman and Chief Executive Bernard Arnault and his clan.

Considered a trailblazer in eco-friendly fashion, McCartney shunned leather early on in her career, establishing her brand in 2001 as leather-free.

Her brand joined LVMH in 2019, brought on to help steer an acceleration of the group’s efforts on the environmental front.

The label added a vegan line of skincare products over the summer.