McCartney Times

As she answers my last question Stella McCartney breathes a sigh of relief. “Thank you God, I have got to go and work on my summer collection. I was halfway through draping a skirt and like, ugh, really?!” she quips, ever so grandly. McCartney is sarcastic like that, but she’s also just finished an entire interview about menswear – a territory still foreign to the decidedly girly designer, who may drape a mean skirt but only launched her men’s collection last season.Earlier, she passed on a question about her favourite menswear designers, admitting she’s “not as up to speed as I could be”. Instead, she says she’ll “focus in on what feels right, and it’s very instinctive’” Case in point, the portrait of her father, Sir Paul McCartney, hanging in her spacious headquarters in one of the dodgier corners of Notting Hill. “That man has been a big influence; and The Beatles and music in general. Just because of my heritage and being British.”Growing up as pop royalty, the male dressers who shaped McCartney’s childhood were a little more colourful than those of your average girl raised in east Sussex state schools during the 1970s and ’80s. Not many people can say their dad’s wardrobe inspired a generation of rebellious male mod dressers in the 1960s, or reminisce about house visits from Michael Jackson. “Yeah, but when Michael came round he didn’t have one glove on and a rhinestone T-shirt. He was just Michael,” she points out, an admirable attempt at trivialising the incredible. “I was always fascinated with his hair because he had this oil in it,” she digresses. “But yeah, I definitely had a madly varied roomful of people surrounding me growing up, and, juxtaposing that, I had fairly normal people in there. I think that has influenced how I approach my work.”One of those who started out normal was Orlando Bloom, a teenage friend who happened to become one of the world’s biggest actors. “I’ve known him forever and we always stayed friends. As both of our careers skyrocketed, we became totally fabulous and now we’re fabulous friends,” McCartney says, deadpan wit intact. While Bloom, now 40, found fame playing elves and pirates, McCartney, now 45, was conquering fashion, taking the helm at Chloé in 1997 just two years after graduating from Central Saint Martins and then establishing her own brand with Kering in 2001.Orlando BloomOrlando Bloom in the designer’s new menswear range Credit: Kurt IswarienkoHer empire, which includes 51 stores worldwide, has flown the flag for sustainable fashion since day one, an ethos her men’s line now follows: no fur, no leather, and heavy use of organic and regenerated materials. When she debuted the collection for spring/summer 2017 in November last year, dedicating it to ‘the men in my life’ and hiring Abbey Road Studios for the launch, Bloom was quick to adopt her quirky, bohemian men’s offering.”He was naturally drawn to it and it suits him,” she says, “as he’s quite hippy at times and not so tailored. It makes sense with his mix of Britishness and West Coast surfer dude.” Distilled into key wardrobe pieces, the Stella McCartney menswear line epitomises the new wave of amalgamated formal and streetwear, with nods to her British-American upbringing courtesy of her late mother Linda McCartney’s New York roots. (Aside from Bloom, early fans include Harry Styles and Pharrell Williams.) There are distorted classics like a jacket in Prince of Wales check that’s been cropped and hooded, or the upbeat, rather political slogan M+NMO, meaning ‘Members and Non-Members Only’, knitted into homespun-style tops.Orlando BloomThe collection comprises of sharp eveningwear and casual pieces Credit: Kurt Iswarienko”Stella’s one of the most authentic people I’ve ever known,” says Bloom. “What I love about her new menswear is the street-style elements of the daywear, which pull in the best of Brit and global youth culture but then add her touch of sophistication. Her suits have both that Savile Row quality and unique detailing that set them apart.”It would have been easy, McCartney says, simply to draw on the formal tailoring education she experienced with Savile Row’s Edward Sexton while doing an apprenticeship there during her time at Saint Martins, but she chose instead to shift things up. “I don’t know if the man I want to dress is having to wear a suit every day. I’m not sure that’s modern,” she argues. “When was the last time you wore a suit? I want to encourage men to wear one because they want to, not because they’re going to get a picture of themselves taken in the street at a fashion show, or for work, or at a wedding or a funeral.”Orlando Bloom McCartney was trained by Savile Row stalwart Edward Sexton and is well versed in the art of cutting Credit: Kurt Iswarienko Bloom concurs: “I’ve always appreciated good tailoring and have always liked to combine it with something that feels authentic to who I am, whether that be work boots, dress shoes or trainers – some detail that makes me feel like

Source: Stella McCartney on her father’s style, her friend Orlando Bloom and launching menswear