By
AFP
Published
Mar 6, 2017
Reading time
3 minutes
Download
Download the article
Print
Text size

McCartney pushes fashion industry on animal skins

By
AFP
Published
Mar 6, 2017

Stella McCartney claimed that fake leather was now as good as the real thing Monday as she charged into the animal cruelty debate that dogs the fashion industry.

The British fashion designer, known for her sharp tailoring and for mixing luxury and sporty looks, unveiled her autumn/winter 2017-2018 women's collection on the penultimate day of Paris Fashion Week, showing a palette of burgundy, bottle green, sky blue, white and silver.


Stella McCartney - Fall-Winter2017 - Womenswear - Paris - © PixelFormula



With fur making a comeback on Paris fashion week catwalks, the British designer known for her label's ethical principles showed coats and suits made with high quality synthetic suede and leather, which she dubbed "skin-free skin". Looks also featured velvet, checkered tweed, denim, pleated organza, loose cotton, chiffon with horse prints or lace-like embroidered details.

As activists from animal rights group PETA protested at the Eiffel Tower against fashion's use of animal pelts, McCartney told reporters that imitation skins now "look so good" that they "genuinely pose a question to the industry about why anyone needs to use leather any more".

There is now nowhere to hide, she seemed to gently warning her peers. 

That did not stop the life-long vegetarian adopting lots of British hunting and shooting style in her show, including a green quilted coat and headscarf borrowed directly from Her Majesty the Queen.

Horsey tweeds and high-waisted dressage suits were first out of the starting gate, with dresses and a top emblazoned with English equestrian artist George Stubb's masterpiece, "Horse Frightened by a Lion".

McCartney gave fox hunting a wide berth, however, leaving the contested terrain of the countryside for the city with slickly cut grey suits and a series of outfits in chic sandy, biscuity browns.

The creator, the daughter of ex-Beatle Paul McCartney, had previously admitted that it was difficult to find substitutes for leather.

But you would never know it from the string of faux leather trouser suits, jackets and coats that make up the core of her collection.


Outsized elegance

Her models gave the penultimate day of Paris Fashion Week a relaxed but effortlessly elegant vibe in trench-coats and jackets, ultra-wide, high-waisted trousers, all-in-one jumpsuits and overalls, and turtle-neck mini-dresses with super-sized sleeves.


Stella McCartney - Fall-Winter2017 - Womenswear - Paris - © PixelFormula



The show, at the Paris Opera, was inspired by "faith. love. energy." McCartney's Twitter feed said, with dancing to "Faith" by the late singer George Michael in the finale.

It was watched by a star-studded crowd including Mexican-U.S. actress Salma Hayek and her French businessman husband Francois-Henri Pinault, chief executive of the Kering group, which has a 50 percent stake in Stella McCartney.

Canadian-American actress Pamela Anderson, Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour and Charlotte Casiraghi, the daughter of Princess Caroline of Hanover were also there.

Models wore over-sized hand-held or strap-over bags, wide belts, casual sporty pumps juxtaposed by elegant but flat fronted and wide-heeled, steel toe capped shoes.

Stella McCartney is one of the most active fashion brands on Instagram, with 3.7 million followers and her show was live-streamed on social media.


Hermes goes full pelt

There was no question, however, of Hermes -- part of whose fortune rests on its Kelly and Birkin handbags -- giving up leather just yet.


Hermès - Fall-Winter2017 - Womenswear - Paris - © PixelFormula



Its autumn-winter collection was, nevertheless, a lot more edgily interesting than observers have come to expect.

One of the opening wool coats was trimmed in red leather, and herds of cow hide followed in its faintly future gothic look that also had a definite air of the mountains about it.

Designer Nadege Vanhee-Cybulski said she wanted to change the perception of Hermes "as stuffy or serious and just show a little bit more vibrations".

While McCartney used little touches of tartan and check, Giambattista Valli became the latest designer to hop on the houndstooth bandwagon that has rolled right through Paris fashion week.

And like Rochas, which explored the erotic potential of buttoned-up aristos, he finished off his body-hugging frilly dresses in little bows.

Paris holds the last leg of the womenswear autumn/winter 2017/2018 catwalk shows, after similar events in New York, London and Milan in the last few weeks.
 
With reporting by Reuters

Copyright © 2024 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.