You wouldn’t have thought there was a problem on the first Monday in May. Stella McCartney — trailblazing sustainable fashion designer, daughter of Sir Paul and Linda, well-known fun time — was slapping Madonna’s bum on the Met Gala steps, which she was attending with her guest Mary J Blige.
Both were visions in white outfits from McCartney’s eponymous label, founded in 2001. The designer, 53, wore a draped, forest-friendly viscose jersey gown and the singer was in a sharp cut, repurposed wool tailored coat — a specialism at the label thanks to McCartney’s training at tailor Tommy Nutter on Savile Row, her first job after leaving Central Saint Martins in 1995.
That year, after her parents sat on the front row for her graduate show, with looks modelled by friends Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell — securing inevitable front page coverage — McCartney’s ascent to the upper echelons of British fashion had already been set in motion.
Three decades later, as she boogied alongside A-list guests Anne Hathaway, Chris Rock, James Corden and Adrien Brody at her Met after-party, hosted with beauty mogul Charlotte Tilbury, everything appeared just as rosy. Back at Stella HQ, in west London’s Olaf Street, however, her team were dealing with a crisis.
The latest accounts filed by the company, in March this year, showed a pre-tax loss of £25 million in 2023 — up from £10 million the previous year. And on May 4, news emerged that the designer was set to close her beloved Old Bond Street flagship store, nine years before the lease expires.
Its opening, one sunny Tuesday in June 2018, was a huge celebration: Moss, Kylie Minogue, Mindy Kaling, Neelam Gill, Sadie Frost and Idris Elba all waved Union Flags from the balcony of the Grade II listed, 18th-century townhouse, as McCartney did the honours chopping a big red ribbon which covered its spotless façade. She put a great deal of herself into the store, which insiders recall her calling her “baby”. “Welcome to the House of Stella McCartney!” she told the press as it opened, explaining: “I have been the architect in this process, creating this space.”
She transported 3ft boulders from the family farm in Kintyre, Scotland, to install on the ground floor, and placed a record player belonging to her Beatle father in the men’s department. The decision to close it will have been one of the most difficult McCartney has had to make to date.
The sums couldn’t add up
It didn’t shock the fashion industry, however, which continues to reel in the face of a global luxury slump. McCartney is the sole owner of her company, which began as a joint venture with Kering, the conglomerate that owns Gucci, Balenciaga and Saint Laurent. In 2018 she bought out Kering, before selling rival group LVMH a minority stake in 2019. The designer repurchased that stake this January.
“If I had had a seat in the budgetary boardroom, I would have prioritised repurchasing the business from LVMH over continuing to bleed money on what has become an increasingly unsustainable retail landscape — particularly on Bond Street,” says publicist Natalia Cassel, of Cassel Consultancy. “The prestige may be high, but the footfall and financial logic simply no longer add up.
“That said, Stella McCartney has an extraordinary brand story and remains the most authentic voice in sustainable luxury. The closure of the flagship shouldn’t be seen as a retreat, but rather a pivot — a chance to refocus, streamline, and embrace a digital-first model that meets the next generation of conscious consumers where they are. This could be a powerful reset, not a setback.”
Tamara Cincik, chief executive of think tank Fashion Roundtable, blames part of McCartney’s strife on “the UK’s decision to end tax-free shopping for tourists, which has had a massive impact on retail, hospitality and travel into the UK and of course affected luxury brands in London” for part of McCartney’s strife. “We have gifted all this to Paris. I would urge Rachel Reeves to reconsider this and bring back tax-free shopping for international and EU shoppers before it is too late.”
Far from the end
It is difficult to imagine the McCartney label going anywhere, anytime soon, and rumour is the designer is close to signing a new lease on another London property. And while the losses from 2023 are concerning, progress has since seemed positive for a small label with an outsized impact on the fashion business, which has led the way on sustainability.
The continuation of her long-running adidas partnership will have been lucrative. Flashy Paris shows and a string of cult products, including a reproduction of the “about f***ing time” vest top McCartney made and wore in 1999, when her father was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, since worn by Dua Lipa, Madonna and Charli XCX, have also kept her name in the news.
Walk into any London department store today and expect to see a healthy buy of McCartney’s newest spring 2025 gear. You will also find plenty of her unsold, older designs have made their way to Bicester Village, where the brand has an outlet, as well as TK Maxx.
But a recent push on her “original vegan luxury handbag”, the Falabella, from 2009, is promising, and coincides with a wider Noughties style revival. “I’ve spent the past six months trying to decide which vintage Falabella bag to buy,” says fashion influencer Olivia Pezzente. “The 2000s off-duty, boho-chic vibe with graphic tees, mini skirts and moccasin boots is in. Vintage Stella McCartney, Isabel Marant and Chloé are really the energy. Stella’s business might have been going through a tough time recently, but I feel like her moment is happening again now.”
