Born and raised in London, Stella McCartney graduated from Central St Martins in 1995. A signature style of sharp tailoring, natural confidence and sexy femininity was immediately apparent in her first collection.

After only two collections, in 1997, she was appointed the Creative Director of Chloe in Paris and enjoyed great success during her tenure.

In 2001, Stella McCartney launched her own fashion house under her name in a joint venture with Gucci Group and showed her first collection in Paris in October 2001. A lifelong vegetarian, Stella McCartney does not use any leather or fur in her designs. Her collections include women‘s ready-to-wear, accessories, eyewear, fragrance and skincare. Her first perfume, “Stella,” launched successfully in September 2003.

Stella McCartney operates 3 flagship stores, in Manhattan‘s Meatpacking District, London‘s Mayfair and LA‘s West Hollywood. Her collections are now distributed in over 40 countries through 300 wholesale accounts including specialty shops and better department stores.

Stella McCartney has ventured outside the world of fashion through several collaborations with artists including Gary Hume in 2002, David Remfry in 2002, Robert Crumb in 2005, and with Jeff Koons on her spring/summer 2006 collection, using his prints on dresses and accessories.

In addition to the main line collection, a long-term partnership with adidas was introduced in September 2004.  The critically acclaimed sports performance collection “adidas by Stella McCartney,” has since successfully grown to include several sports categories including running, gym, yoga, tennis, swimming, and most recently dance for the autumn winter 2007 collection.

In November 2005, the hugely successful one-off collection “Stella McCartney for H&M” sold out worldwide in record time. In September 2006, “Stella In Two,” a new interpretation of her successful fragrance “Stella” introduced a new way to customize fragrance by splitting the notes of the original fragrance into the liquid Peony and the solid perfume, Amber, which can either be worn alone or layered.

In 2007, Stella McCartney unveiled CARE by Stella McCartney, the first luxury organic skincare line, containing 100% organic active ingredients which took more than 3 years to develop, in collaboration with YSL Beauté.

The following awards have recognized Stella McCartney‘s achievement in fashion and social awareness: VH1/Vogue Fashion and Music 2000 Designer of the Year award (2000, NY), the Woman of Courage Award for work against cancer at the prestigious Unforgettable Evening event (2003, LA), the Glamour Award for best Designer of the Year (2004, London), the Star honouree at the Fashion Group International Night of the Stars (2004, NY), the Organic Style Woman of the Year Award (2005, NY) and the Elle Style Award for Best Designer of the Year Award (2007, London).

courtesy of www.stellamccartney.com


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MyVillage, 28th January