Stella McCartney

Corporate brand

A British luxury fashion house founded by Stella McCartney and distinguished by its long-standing commitment to animal-free materials and lower-impact design.

Last updated October 2, 2026

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Overview

Stella McCartney is a British luxury fashion house established in 2001 by designer Stella McCartney. From its beginning, the label combined the commercial language of modern luxury with a position against the use of leather, fur and feathers. Its collections have included womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, handbags, footwear, accessories, eyewear, fragrance and skincare, distributed through standalone boutiques, selected wholesale partners and the brand’s international online stores. The house is closely associated with a clean, tailored and often sharply modern design vocabulary. Its commercial identity has also been built around recognizable products, including the Falabella handbag, whose chain-trimmed construction became one of the brand’s signature accessories, and the Elyse platform shoe. Rather than presenting sustainability as a separate capsule, the company has generally treated material selection, animal welfare and environmental impact as part of the core product proposition. The brand has promoted alternatives to conventional leather and has used recycled and bio-based materials in selected products and collections. McCartney launched the business after establishing herself as a designer at Chloé. The new label was created in partnership with Gucci Group, which later became part of Kering. In 2018, McCartney bought back Kering’s interest and became the majority owner. In 2019, LVMH acquired a minority stake while McCartney remained creative director and majority owner. The arrangement also gave her a sustainability-focused advisory role within LVMH. In January 2025, she repurchased LVMH’s remaining minority interest, returning the fashion house to full ownership by McCartney while preserving an ongoing relationship with LVMH as a sustainability adviser and ambassador. The brand’s public positioning extends beyond product design into campaigns and partnerships. Its advertising has addressed climate change, biodiversity, animal welfare and the role of consumers in environmental action. The company has also maintained a significant sportswear relationship with adidas through the adidas by Stella McCartney line, which applies the designer’s sustainability principles to running, training and other performance categories. Stella McCartney has additionally operated in beauty. Its early fragrance business was followed by the CARE skincare range, and the brand returned to beauty in 2022 with the Stella skincare line developed with LVMH’s beauty division. The house remains a privately controlled, internationally distributed luxury brand whose identity depends on the combination of designer authorship, recognizable accessories, celebrity visibility and a consistently stated animal-free and sustainability-oriented philosophy.

History

Stella McCartney founded her eponymous fashion house in 2001 after serving as creative director of Chloé. The business was established with Gucci Group, giving the young label access to the infrastructure of a major luxury group while preserving McCartney's authorship and design direction. Gucci Group later became part of Kering. The house quickly developed a distinct identity through understated tailoring, feminine ready-to-wear, modern evening pieces and accessories. Its approach to luxury differed from many established fashion houses because it excluded leather, fur and feathers from its core design policy. This created a continuing challenge: producing desirable luxury goods while finding alternatives to conventional animal-derived materials. The brand made that constraint central to its creative and commercial identity rather than treating it solely as a compliance measure. Accessories became increasingly important to the business. The Falabella bag, recognized for its substantial chain edging and relaxed structure, became a signature product. Footwear, including the Elyse platform, further expanded the label's visibility. Alongside womenswear, the company developed menswear, childrenswear and other accessories, helping it operate as a broader fashion house rather than a single-category designer label. McCartney's ownership relationship with Kering changed in 2018, when she bought back the group's interest after a 17-year partnership. The move returned majority control to the designer and was widely understood as an effort to give her greater independence over the company's strategy and sustainability agenda. In 2019, LVMH acquired a minority stake. McCartney retained majority ownership and remained creative director. The partnership linked the independent house to one of the world's largest luxury groups while also formalizing McCartney's role as an adviser on environmental and sustainability issues. During this period, the brand continued to expand its use of recycled, regenerated and alternative materials and maintained its partnership with adidas for performance sportswear. The label's communications increasingly made environmental activism a visible part of brand building. Campaigns such as Agents of Change addressed climate action directly, while Change Creators promoted the adidas collaboration through imagery about nature, innovation and collective responsibility. Later campaigns connected fashion imagery with recycling, animal welfare and biodiversity. The 2025 Save What You Love campaign used AI-generated birds to communicate the threat of extinction. Beauty has been another area of development. McCartney launched fragrance in the early years of the business and later introduced the CARE skincare range. In 2022, the brand returned to beauty with Stella skincare, developed with LVMH's beauty organization. In January 2025, McCartney bought back LVMH's minority stake, ending the group's direct ownership position after more than five years. She nevertheless retained a sustainability advisory and ambassadorial relationship with LVMH. Today, Stella McCartney operates as a privately controlled international luxury fashion house. Its proposition rests on the combination of recognizable designer products, global distribution, animal-free design principles, experimentation with lower-impact materials and public advocacy on climate and biodiversity. The brand's long-term challenge is to balance luxury growth and product durability with the environmental costs of fashion production, a tension it addresses through material innovation, partnerships and activism-oriented communications.

2025
McCartney regains full ownership
[2]Stella McCartney buys back minority stake from LVMHwwd.com
McCartney acquired LVMH's remaining 49 percent interest in the fashion business.
2022
Stella skincare launches
[9]Stella skincare launchescosmeticsbusiness.com
The brand re-entered skincare with the Stella line developed with LVMH's beauty division.
2019
LVMH takes a minority stake
[8]Kering partnership endsnasdaq.com
LVMH became a minority investor while McCartney retained majority ownership and creative control.
2018
Kering partnership ends
[8]Kering partnership endsnasdaq.com
McCartney bought back Kering's interest, restoring majority ownership and greater strategic independence.
2001
Fashion house founded
[7]Fashion house foundedstellamccartney.com
Stella McCartney established her namesake luxury fashion label in partnership with Gucci Group.

Products and positioning

High-end luxury fashion with a strong emphasis on animal-free materials, sustainability, ethical production and contemporary British design.

Handbag
Falabella
The Falabella is one of the house's best-known accessories. It is associated with a structured yet soft silhouette, a distinctive chain-trimmed edge and animal-free construction. The line has appeared in multiple sizes, colors and materials and functions as a prominent expression of the brand's approach to luxury without conventional leather.
Footwear
Elyse
The Elyse is a platform shoe recognized for its elevated sole and fashion-forward proportions. It helped establish footwear as a visible part of the Stella McCartney product universe and reflects the label's practice of using non-leather alternatives in luxury shoes.
Performance sportswear
Adidas by Stella McCartney
This ongoing collaboration applies Stella McCartney's design language and sustainability priorities to running, training and other performance categories. Collections have incorporated recycled materials and technical fabrics, combining sports functionality with the visual codes of a luxury designer label.
Skincare · 2022
Stella skincare
Stella is the brand's skincare line introduced after its return to beauty in 2022. Developed with LVMH's beauty division, it was positioned around a clear-conscience approach and the house's broader interest in responsible materials and formulations.

Marketing campaigns

2025Save What You Love
Global
The summer 2025 campaign used AI-generated birds and a biodiversity-focused message to warn that real bird species could disappear and survive only as imagined digital images.
Outcome. It extended the brand's environmental communication from climate and animal welfare to extinction and biodiversity loss.
Source
2024Winter 2024 environmental campaign
Global
Eva Mendes and Raye appeared in Ethan James Green's imagery alongside animal references, with forceful copy urging immediate action on environmental destruction and animal welfare.
Outcome. The campaign strengthened the brand's direct, activism-oriented advertising style and attracted fashion-media discussion.
Source
2020Neutralizer
Global
The Winter 2020/21 concept promoted reducing emissions and environmental impact, using digital communication and influencers to connect the collection with climate-conscious behavior.
Outcome. The campaign linked the collection to carbon reduction and sustainability initiatives; detailed independently verified outcome data is unavailable.
Source
2019Agents of Change
Global
The winter campaign featured models and activists connected with climate action and presented fashion advertising as a prompt for consumers to respond to environmental change.
Outcome. It reinforced the house's sustainability positioning and generated editorial attention around climate activism.
Source
2019Change Creators
Global
The adidas by Stella McCartney campaign paired environmental imagery with individuals presented as agents of positive change and promoted recycled-material performance clothing.
Outcome. The campaign supported the launch and sustainability narrative of the collaborative sportswear collection.
Source
2008Mobile holiday campaign
North America
The brand used mobile banner advertising and an interactive phone-based shopping experience to promote its spring and summer collections, extending luxury-fashion discovery into an emerging digital channel.
Outcome. The campaign increased mobile exposure for the label and supported collection browsing among holiday shoppers.
Source

Brand decisions

2025
Buy back LVMH's remaining stakeM&A
Background
McCartney decided to write a new independent chapter after more than five years of collaboration with LVMH.
Action taken
She acquired LVMH's remaining 49 percent interest in Stella McCartney Ltd.
Aftermath
The brand returned to full ownership by McCartney, while she continued working with LVMH as a sustainability ambassador and adviser.
Source
2022
Re-enter beauty with Stella skincareProduct launch
Background
The house had previously operated fragrance and the CARE skincare range before returning to beauty.
Action taken
The brand launched Stella skincare with LVMH's beauty division.
Aftermath
Beauty became an additional category through which the house expressed its sustainability and clear-conscience positioning.
Source
2019
Accept LVMH minority investmentM&A
Background
LVMH identified McCartney's established sustainability and ethical-fashion position as a strategic reason to partner with the house.
Action taken
LVMH acquired a minority stake while McCartney retained majority ownership, creative leadership and an advisory role on sustainability.
Aftermath
The partnership connected the independent label with LVMH's luxury and beauty infrastructure for more than five years.
Source
2018
Reclaim majority ownership from KeringStrategy
Background
After a 17-year partnership with Kering, McCartney sought greater independence for her namesake house.
Action taken
McCartney bought back Kering's interest and resumed majority control of the business.
Aftermath
The ownership change preceded the later minority investment by LVMH and gave McCartney greater control over the brand's creative and sustainability direction.
Source

Recent events

2021-10-02
Stella McCartney launches seventh breast cancer awareness campaign[12]Stella McCartney 推出第七届乳癌防治宣传活动music-news.com
Stella McCartney launched its seventh Breast Cancer Awareness campaign, featuring cast members from Sex Education and urging women to check their breasts for changes or lumps.
2021-04-29
Stella McCartney and adidas launch capsule collection[13]Stella McCartney与adidas推出胶囊系列heraldmailmedia.com
Reported: 2021-04-29
Stella McCartney and adidas launched a sustainable capsule collection featuring five unisex silhouettes. Pieces from the collection were available globally online at the time of publication.
2021-04-01
Fashion brands contribute damaged goods to The RealReal’s Re-Collection project[14]时尚品牌向The RealReal的Re-Collection项目捐赠瑕疵商品papermag.com
Reported: 2021-04-01
A-COLD-WALL, Balenciaga, Jacquemus, Stella McCartney, Dries van Noten, Simone Rocha, Zero + Maria Cornejo and Ulla Johnson donated damaged and defective items to The RealReal for its Re-Collection upcycling project. Ateliers & Repairs carried out the upcycling, and the resulting collection comprises more than 50 pieces.
Unconfirmed
Stella McCartney announces workforce and pay reductions[15]Stella McCartney宣布裁员及降薪yicai.com
Stella McCartney said it would reduce employee pay for a period and cut some roles to lower operating costs amid the continuing COVID-19 impact.
2020-07-22
Stella McCartney announces a restructuring plan[16]Stella McCartney宣布重组计划finance.sina.com.cn
Reported: 2020-07-22
Stella McCartney said it needed to restructure, reduce costs and business scale, cut spending on projects and activities, and streamline its team. The company said it had not yet made a decision on layoffs and was consulting employees; it also said long-term pay reductions would be implemented.
2019-10-10
Stella McCartney appoints Gabriele Maggio as CEO[17]Stella McCartney任命Gabriele Maggio为CEOfashion.sina.com.cn
Reported: 2019-10-10
Stella McCartney confirmed that Gabriele Maggio would succeed as CEO and take up the role at the brand’s UK headquarters on October 21.
Unconfirmed
Stella McCartney unveils KOBA faux fur[18]Stella McCartney推出KOBA仿毛皮anneofcarversville.com
Reported: 2019-10-07
Stella McCartney unveiled KOBA faux fur at its spring 2020 ready-to-wear show. The material is made from Sorona bio-based fibers.
Unconfirmed
Stella McCartney, DuPont and Ecopel collaborate on KOBA faux fur[18]Stella McCartney推出KOBA仿毛皮anneofcarversville.com
Reported: 2019-10-07
Stella McCartney, DuPont Biomaterials and Ecopel collaborated on KOBA, a bio-based faux fur made from Sorona fibers.
Unconfirmed
Stella McCartney presents Summer 2020 collection[19]Stella McCartney发布2020夏季系列euronews.com
Reported: 2019-10-02
Stella McCartney presented its Summer 2020 ready-to-wear collection at Paris Fashion Week. The brand described it as its most sustainable collection to date.

Sources20 sources

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