The Parish Magazine May 2024

FASHION BY HARRIET NELSON
A girl can dream, can't she?
The issue of sustainable fashion is slowly filtering down from the top fashion
houses to high street shops. Global warming has increased significantly, and the
fast fashion industry is currently the third largest polluter after the oil industry.
Luxury Brands are facing the issue
of creating fashion that isn't just
made for the runway, worn once, and
thrown away. They are now turning to
sustainable materials and products to
reduce their environmental impact.
Sales within sustainable brands
and products have risen dramatically,
and a great example of a fashion
luxury brand addressing this issue
is Stella McCartney. She is working
on many sustainable collections
using organic materials and is known
worldwide for her sustainable work.
VEGAN FAMILY
Stella grew up vegan within her
famous family and she naturally looked
at the fashion world slightly differently
from her peers. It was no surprise
that she has never used animal or
unsustainable materials in her designs
and has continued to grow her business
with sustainability at its heart.
Her designs use organic cotton,
vegetarian leather, recycled cashmere,
and recycled nylon and polyester.
I had a fantastic opportunity last
year to tour the Stella McCartney store
in London and received good answers
to my questions. It was fascinating
that Stella's clothes were not the only
sustainable aspect. The shop was
also constructed sustainably with
collections displayed artfully using
recycled materials.
The walls, for example, were made
from recycled materials and paper
from the brand's head offices. Looking
closer at the wall, I saw many different
types of papers layered to create unique
elements and textures within the walls,
I was amazed and inspired.
SUSTAINABLE
McCartney has displayed all her
products on sustainable furniture.
Upstairs, there was a beautiful, upcycled
piece of wood displaying the
bags, which were made in Venice.
Some sustainable high heel shoes
were displayed on a red silicone
material produced using sustainable
silicon. It was a unique material to use
to display shoes, and looked amazing.
My favourite areas were the lifts and
dressing rooms. Each dressing room,
designed personally by Stella, was
unique with a different sustainable
theme. One was embroidered with
brown sustainable thread with beads in
the shapes of hands.
SPEAKERS
There were speakers in the lifts
telling you about Stella's inspiration for
the collections and, as you went to try
on the clothing, they told you about the
sustainable materials used.
Inside another dressing room was
a wide mirror with quotes: 'If I can,
then there is no reason not to.' - Stella
McCartney.
A main feature downstairs was a
collection of Stella's designer shoes
displayed on the wall. What stood out
to me was the colourful barcode on
most of them.
I scanned one of the shoes, and was
directed to her website which showed
a page about her S-wave trainers —
Stella's most sustainable sneakers.
Most of the garments were from
her spring and summer collections.
Each part of the store had a different
collection with wild and unique colours
for spring.
Upstairs, for example, displayed
a room full of the sportswear, and
downstairs showcased Stella's most
popular garments that were seen on the
runway and ready to wear collections.
ESSENTIAL
At the back of the store was a
display of her sustainable skincare
products. I use these and love them.
I have her Essential Travel Set, which
includes a Reset Cleanser (50ml), Alter-
Care Serum (20ml) and Restore Cream
(20ml), packaged in an eco-designed
travel bag made from recycled nylon.
All these products are perfect for
fulfilling a sustainable beauty routine
for your holiday, or at home.
As you can guess, I’m a huge fan of
Stella McCartney’s brand and love her
commitment to reducing waste and
pollution. At the moment my budget
doesn’t run to buying clothes from her
beautiful Bond Street store, but a girl
can dream, can’t she?
The Parish Magazine - May 2024 31