MILAN — Not long ago Stella McCartney, a winner at Sunday’s Green Carpet Fashion Awards, described herself as an “eco-weirdo.” McCartney was so proud of the moniker that she worked it — and other green slogans — into T-shirts and tailored clothing for her men’s spring 2020 and women’s resort collections.
For decades, the lifelong vegetarian and animal rights activist has been cheerleading for the environment, and for sustainable practices in fashion. She has refused to use fur, feathers, leather (and, of late, angora) in her collections, but over the years few people bothered to listen or take her seriously. Others probably rolled their eyes.
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Now, with climate change protests rocking the globe, with Greta Thunberg zipping to the U.N. Climate Action Summit on a boat rather than a plane, and with sustainability talks, panels, summits and platforms mushrooming during the fashion weeks, people are beginning to wake up, she believes.
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“I’ve practiced this my whole life, but only now can I start trying to teach people and feel a less resistant ear on the other side. Looking at things from a different perspective is not always comfortable with people. All of the industries have contributed to the global impact that we’re feeling, and everyone needs to look at their supply chain and manufacturing and do it differently. We can’t continue like this,” said McCartney over a coffee at the Mandarin Oriental a few hours before accepting the Groundbreaker Award during the ceremony at La Scala.
McCartney plans to talk about all of this with her new investor, Bernard Arnault. In July, the designer sold a minority stake in her business to LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton and, as part of the deal, will become a special adviser to LVMH chairman and chief executive officer Arnault, and the executive committee members.
“I’m going to tell them the truth — that is what I do — and I am going to help them. My role is to be [Arnault’s] personal adviser, so I’m going to advise him. Timing is everything, and I genuinely feel that he is absolutely available for the conversation,” she said.
“The magnitude of what we could do together is quite game-changing. These things don’t happen overnight and, sadly, we don’t know if we have enough time to change for our children. All I know is that the opportunity is there now. I’ve already spoken to people at LVMH, and told them that, for me, something is better than nothing, and that every little bit helps.”
She said she could not be “more excited, ready and equipped to deliver, for Arnault. “I take it as a privilege,” said McCartney, who will continue conducting the annual environmental profit and loss account, or EP&L, on her company (which began when she had a 50-50 partnership with Kering) and she wants to encourage her peers at LVMH to do the same.
“There is a lot of conversation still to be had, a huge amount of learning still to be done. We are merely scratching the surface. I find a new challenge every single day. These things don’t happen overnight, but — possibly — we need to speed it up just so we have more nights on planet Earth.”
The designer has a big operation in Milan; the brand’s EMEA headquarters is in the Tortona design district, not far from Giorgio Armani’s showroom and show space. She does much of her manufacturing in Italy — and a few months ago hosted the company’s latest in-house sourcing conference. She sees the conference as a way for suppliers and manufacturers to exchange ideas and find solutions to the vexing issues that stem from working with a vegetarian, sustainability-first company.
The bulk of McCartney’s production starts at the source, with the farmers and the soil. “This is not just about using organic cotton: We have to train and work alongside our suppliers, and we have pulled and encouraged and entered into many different conversations with them. How might we work with them to have access to the best quality craftsmen and mills?” she said.
She is adamant that her company has access to the same standards and quality as her luxury peers. “I don’t want to compromise any style or luxury for sustainability,” she said, adding that she believes her company is creating “the best nonleathers in the world,” in addition to sustainable viscose and glue-less solutions for shoes. A few years ago she came out with a glue-free sneaker with pieces that fit together like a Lego.
She’s especially proud of her solution to PVC — for accessories in particular. “We’d not been able to do any material for years that was clear. We’ve only just found a material that’s stable enough to make into a shoe or into a bag,” she said.
McCartney argues that the industry isn’t facing up to environmental challenges or making the same demands. “But the consumer is, and so we’re in this awkward place right now where we can’t do these things without our suppliers’ commitment. And we’ve had resistance. These mills are hundreds of years old, and they have to open their minds” to working with new fibers and yarns.
She points to the risk factors in experimenting with new textiles. “The number of things that could go wrong! The amount of testing that needs to go on — it takes years rather than months.”
McCartney talked about the financial blows her company takes every time she exports to the U.S.
“I get penalized financially every single day bringing nonleather into America. The taxation is 30 percent higher, and it is a disgrace. I get hit every day on the numbers, but I choose to do what I believe is the right thing. I’m a fighter, and I feel so passionately about this.”
She also believes the industry needs to be incentivized, from a legal and political perspective, to make real changes. “I have no incentive, but you can’t expect people to do it like me. I’m not normal. I come from a place of privilege, so I didn’t have to compromise my belief system. I had a fallback.”
Read More: Stella McCartney Calls on the Industry to Do More
Asked how she reconciles her beliefs with designing clothing season after season, and being part of an industry that’s one of the most wasteful on the planet, McCartney said she needs fashion as a platform to telegraph her values, and call for change.
“I feel if I don’t create desirable, beautiful, long-standing, designed products, you wouldn’t be having a conversation with me. If I was just designing vegan handbags — three of them — I don’t think these Green Carpet awards would be happening. I may not be like any other fashion house, but I have to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my peers to prove that you can have a business model with a far greater commitment to Mother Earth at the core,” said the designer.
Most of her products are biodegradable, and sustainable, McCartney argued, and she also said she’s an advocate of renting clothing, recycling, vintage and charity shops. She was wearing a navy blue tailored men’s suit that she designed a few seasons ago, and chunky white sneakers that are built to last.
“I am an environmentalist, and we are challenging it all. I don’t feel that it would benefit anyone if I removed myself from this conversation. If I were living off the grid on my organic farm I would be a better citizen, but I feel I have to make change and I can’t just do it by telling people off. I have to make a f–king sexy handbag, and I have to provide an alternative to the current norm in the fashion industry.”
Her spring 2020 Paris women’s show, she said, will be her most sustainable yet, and she’s also preparing to launch an eco-minded project at the same time.
Consumers, too, should continue to speak up and call out unsustainable merchandise and practices, she said. “The consumer needs to make the change by not buying into all of these products, and by challenging what the product is,” she said.
“I don’t want to buy something made out of a dead cow, so I’ll ask a brand to make me an alternative. The consumer holds the key right now.”