Studio Brief 02 - Fur for animals - Stella Mccartney

Stella Mccartney 

Stella Nina McCartney, OBE is an English fashion designer. She is the daughter of former Beatles member Paul McCartney and American musician, photographer and animal rights activist Linda McCartney. In an industry where designers rarely take an admirable position on anything, Stella McCartney’s opposition to animal cruelty has been consistent and vocal. 

Her interest in fashion started at an early age and by 13 she had begun to make her own clothes. Three years later she undertook an internship with Christian Lacroix, after which she completed an art foundation at Ravensbourne College and then a degree in fashion design at Central Saints Martins. After graduating, she shadowed Savile Row tailor Edward Sexton to learn more about the craft.

She is renowned for her sharp, simple tailoring with a feminine edge and considerate approach to wearable design. "It's not about what it looks like in the studio or on the runway," she once told WWD. "It's what it looks like on a real person that matters. That isn't easy, but it's what's fun." Following in the footsteps of her mother Linda, she is a staunch supporter of animal rights and a strict vegetarian - she refuses to use leather or fur in any of her designs. Instead, her shoes are made of vinyl or plastic and all belts and bags are made from raffia and fabric.

A lifelong vegetarian, McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. She supports PETA. Some of McCartney's designs have text that elaborates on her "no animal" policy; for example, one of her jackets for Adidas says, "suitable for sporty vegetarians" on the sleeve. She does use wool, silk, and other animal-derived fabrics in her designs.

Her work 

'As a designer, I like to work with fabrics that don't bleed; that's why I avoid all animals skins' - Stella Maccartney.

As a group we have decided to use Stella Maccartney's work as an inspiration. She's uses lots of nature like flowers/animals in her posters for fashion and perfume advertisements. The designs are very bright, the model is in black and white colours which is perfectly creating a contrast between the model and flowers in the pastel colours giving an unique look. This gave us an idea of adding a bit of nature to the video. Also for using pastel colours for the model's make up, cloths etc.

Video for PETA 

I have also found a video which Stella Mccarteny has done for PETA about why she chooses to leave leather out of her collection. The video is created for people to learn the facts about leather's extreme cruelty, environmental destruction, and human health costs and pledge never to wear animal skins again.

Because skin is the most economically important co-product of the meat industry, buying leather directly contributes to factory farms and slaughterhouses—and all the cruelty involved. Purchasing the skins of cows raised in the U.S. likely pays for the horrors of factory farming, including castration, branding, tail-docking, and dehorning—all without any painkillers. Leather sourced from developing countries such as India and China may have come from animals who experienced untold suffering—such as being dismembered while they're still conscious—since animal welfare laws there are either non-existent or not enforced. Stella avoids financing any of this barbarity by refusing to wear the skins of tortured animals.