Stella McCartney
- Profession: Fashion Designer
- Place/Date of Birth: London, 13 September 2020
Stella moves from Chloe to Gucci - 02/04/01
Stella McCartney is leaving Chloe and this week an announcement is expected to confirm the long-running speculation that designer Stella McCartney is leaving French fashion house Chloe to run her own label under Gucci.
Stella became Chloe’s chief designer four years ago, and has seen profits almost quadruple since then. The daughter of the former Beatle, Stella’s designs have won her a bevy of famous fans, including Kate Moss, Nicole Kidman, Victoria Beckham, Naomi Campbell and Madonna, whose wedding dress she designed last year. Stella’s contract with Chloe is due to expire in June, and a move to a big fashion house has been expected. Gucci has been undergoing something of a recruitment drive of late, signing up other leading designers, such as McCartney’s fellow Briton Alexander McQueen. Currently working for Chloe in Paris, McCartney’s switch is expected to see her returning to live and work in Britain. No doubt in her Notting Hill house. Stella still refuses to work with leather or fur and will not be doing so at Gucci.
Stella going it alone - 02/03/01
Stella McCartney is set to quit Chloe and set up her own Paris-based fashion house.
She has reportedly been looking for premises in Paris where she can set up her own label. It has been rumoured that Stella will be backed by her father Sir Paul. She was in talks with the management at Gucci last month, but talks are said to have broken down over Stella’s refusal to work with any leather products. However, another possible suitor who may finance her is American designer Tommy Hilfiger, with his well-heeled backers Lawrence Stroll and Silas Chou.
21/01/01
Fashion designer Stella McCartney showed her contempt for the hunting set last night when she grimaced after leaving a private reception held by Prince Charles. Stella, a passionate animal rights campaigner, seemed reluctant to join the prince at the get-together before the British Fashion Awards. She emerged just 10 minutes later. And asked about the encounter, she rolled her eyes and said sarcastically: "It was gripping stuff." Not bothering to hide the sarcasm in her voice, she added: "It was great, fantastic." It was clear that the encounter with Charles, who later presented Alexander McQueen with British Designer of the Year award, had opened up old wounds. Stella was horrified to find Charles’ partner hunting fan Camilla Parker Bowles in the front row at a Paris fashion show two years ago. Stella exclaimed: "Oh my God, Camilla’s here."
07/12/00
Stella McCartney is busy designing Madonna’s wedding dress and a bridesmaid dress for Lourdes, Madonna’s daughter. Stella is also campaigning alongside Alexander McQueen and Sir Terence Conran to have the Royal Army Medical College site, next to Tate Britain, turned into a new arts quarter for London. They face stiff competition from the Aga Khan who wants to turn the space into an Islamic Cultural Centre.
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Unsurprisingly, the student show became front page news around the world and the entire collection was snapped up by London boutique Tokio. She launched her eponymous label the same year. Despite her new-found celebrity, McCartney had already served a long apprenticeship in fashion. At 15, she worked with Christian Lacroix on his first couture collection and later spent several years learning her craft on Savile Row. McCartney was appointed chief designer at the French couture house Chloë in March 1997. Succeeding Karl Lagerfeld in one of the most high profile posts in the industry, McCartney’s appointment was viewed by many as simply an astute publicity stunt on the part of Chloë’s owners, the Vendome group. However, her first collection for the house, shown in Paris in October 1997, quickly dispelled any doubts about her talent. Sensual and romantic, the collection teamed lacy petticoat skirts with fine tailoring and was hailed a triumph. Her delicate camisoles and Nineties updates of the Seventies trousersuit fast became the talk of the catwalk circuit.
The following season, Chloë execs proved that her efforts had not only raised the house’s profile, but had lifted its profits too. Following her mother’s death in April 1998, Stella took up her fight against the maltreatment of animals. A month later, during Fur Fashion Week, she teamed up with PeTA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - to release a video championing animal rights. In April 2000, she renewed her contract with Chloë, amid reports that she had turned down the offer of a position at rival house Gucci, because Gucci would have required her to work with leather. She may have torn up the grey carpets of her new office in Paris to make it of a parquet-floored home away from home; but, to Stella McCartney, there really is no place like it.
In fact, rather than move entirely from her beloved studio-flat in London’s W11, the Chloë designer has merely upgraded to a £695,000 white stucco, four-floor family house with a miniature roof terrace down the road. Her vibe is undeniably west London. Written in 2000
September 2007