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The Stella McCartney show began with a video message from Mother Earth, a manifesto read by actress Olivia Colman. Goes:
“You have called me many names / And you know my face / You see me in the trees / The birds / The waves / You all came from me / In harmony / So why do you hurt me? / We are always together / And despite your attempts at emancipation / You can’t cut the umbilical cord that connects the entire planet / I’m sorry, darling / I’m the only mother where it’s natural for her to outlive her children / But what will be left of me / After you? / I still love you / Do you still love me? / I need you to prove it / Show me that you love me / It’s time to fuck / It’s time to fuck / It’s time to fuck.
If you read the headlines about the climate, it may seem like it’s already too late. More than a million acres of the Texas peninsula have burned in the still-raging Smokehouse Creek fire, and scientists are warning of a crucial tipping point in Atlantic Ocean warming that could precipitate the system’s collapse. Less calamitous, but equally revealing, is how spring has arrived here in Paris. The equinox is two weeks away and the magnolia trees are already blooming. It’s the same in other places. How can a woman, especially if she is a mother, not get depressed by all this?
McCartney is preternaturally optimistic (perhaps it’s because of all the time he spends in the countryside?) and that refusal to see the cup half empty permeates his collections. Although her tailored jackets have powerful shoulders that could dominate a board meeting, she styles them and sends them down the runway without shirts or reinforcements.
On the more relaxed side of things, matching slouchy knit sets are complemented by looped yarn boas long enough to dust off the floor. There isn’t the luxury you get with other high fashion brands; McCartney wants you to have a little fun with his clothes.
Other highlights this season included cut-crystal detail tailoring in the style of a Chloé collection McCartney designed circa spring 2000, and jeans with built-in faux leather chaps accompanied by a tank top printed with the final chorus of Mother Earth’s manifesto. That much of this was constructed with recycled or responsibly sourced materials and vegan alternatives to animal products is another reason to feel good about McCartney’s clothes. None of this will save Mother Earth, but using it and supporting McCartney could help spread the word about all the trouble ahead, and that’s at least something.