Stella McCartney F/W 2021.22 Paris

this video of this collection was excellent. however the still shots are horrid.

 

While Stella is one of those designers I enjoy wearing, she is not really on my radar lately...And it’s disappointing to see such a offering from her.
The pants are fabulous (maybe the must have pieces from her in a longtime) and the coats are good but do we need another Balenciaga in 2021?

I hope that now that Chloe is kinda lost, she will go back to what made her success...

Is Lotta somehow involved in this?

 

I guess this season she decided to have no identity. This looks like Balenciaga x Victoria Beckham.

But this make me think what is Stella signature? Beside her authentic commitments on sustainable, she doesn't have a clear vision that make me truly connect with her. It's great that she is not a copycat but her clothes are just in the middle, not ugly but not truly memorable. It's easier to connect with Phoebe and Clare than her.

 

Look 2 is straight up a flop version of Balenciaga ss2017. And Jesus Christ those legging boots have been done over and over and over and OVER SHUT UP

 

This collection is so weird! As if Stella had been so influenced by everything currently going on to the point of forgetting about herself. What is a shame, because her last few collections were quite good. However, this one...

Yesterday I made a throwback and read the reviews of her first collections. They were extremely bad because she had lost her Chloé charm and made vulgar slogans and ugly silhouettes. I'm curious whether we'll see something similar with this collection and its anonimity. Also, that throwback made me think of her lack of signature silhouettes or pieces, or even a distinctive attitude. Being sustainable is not enough to survive and at one point she will get forgotten. And now I'm pretty sure it was Phoebe who was responsible for the success of Stella's tenure at Chloé...

 

Indeed very Balenciaga.

 

so...you want to help the planet and make something really sustainable?

well, my dear Stella you can start by stop designing and producing such useless and uninspired clothes. Honestly I can’t imagine how someone would take a look at this and say: “oh, I really want to be that woman”.

 

As much as I agree that her last few collections are quite messy, I don't think it's fair to say that her clothes have no personality. Phoebe Philo she is not, for sure, but over the years she built a set of silhouettes that are quite recognisable, like the tops/dresses cinched at the waist with full round shoulders and sleeves (as in look 15 here).

One thing we can say, Miss Riri really REALLY likes her




Credit: Firstview

 

I mean it's been like 40 years and style still evades her. Nothing of any real consequence here.

 

Isn't RIhanna wearing the now defunct Fenty rtw in that pic? Is this really the best comparison considering Stella is only in business because nepotism.

 

Yet another Demna wannabe...

 

I don’t get the nepotism issue with Stella. She is a good designer. And unlike a lot of girls of her status, it’s something she really wanted...Not just a bored girl’s career.

But overall, what’s the issue with nepotism in the fashion industry? Somebody needs to explain that to me....

 

If a nepotism issue exists in fashion, Stella is barely part of it. Her business would have not survived this long only on account of her father's name or her social/environmental commitment, had there not had been some real talent.

 

She should really sit down and look at the signature things that made her famous in the first place. That slightly hippie, romantic look that fused great tailoring and vintage negligees. That look is already coming back and big in the designer vintage market. This collection feels even less believable than her Céline-by-Phoebe era.

 

Lots of people want to be fashion designers.

Nepotism is a problem in all industries but Stella never gave what she was supposed to give and everyone know this.

Stella only got into CSM bc of her name and then she got a sliver of skills. Pinault wanted to be able to invite her dad over to dinner to impress his billionaire friends so he gave her a whole house. When Paul dies so will Stella's career because everyone wants to hear about Pauls heydey. Nobody cares about Stella.

Kerign sold part of her brand back to her. This experiment is over, they're shuffling her out quietly. You don't sell brands back unless they're not doing well...If Stella was doing well Kering would want to buy the rest of the brand. Not sell it back to her. Its like "here take this back it's not giving what its supposed to give"

Also in an age where everyone is doing Vegan somehow the originator Stella isn't running up the sales. The Falabella bag should be a top seller since it is allegedly what customers want these days. Yet it isn't running the numbers up.

How can the first "conscious" fashion brand be flopping in a world where everyone is looking for the next "conscious" thing? Because non fashion people don't see any value in SM. Non fashion people see it as very much a nepotism thing. I was in Vegas and was surprised she had a store there, a tiny one, smaller than Gaultier's store when he had one.

I think her sneaker collab is what is paying the bills still. Remember how Kering tried to set McQ up in the same way with that Puma line but it flopped, they were copying Stella's formula.

 

Stella was the only smart girl in town who never made the mistake of selling the majority stakes of her company to the big conglomerates, neither Kering before or LVMH now (because, LVMH soon replaced Kering starting from January 2020, you know - maybe someone is interested in her work after all...).
This all idea that Kering embarked on the costs of supporting her business because they were only interested in the social/PR connections attached to her father is frankly ludicrous, as it is to think that Tom Ford did so before them (because he was the one who got the brand into the then Gucci Group, along with Bottega, McQueen, Balenciaga and so on).

Having a famous parent can only get one far to a limit, then you have to prove yourself worthy anyway. And as much as it can be helpful in some respects, it should not be considered a guilt either.

 

If it wasn’t for Tom Ford, the Gucci Group and the idea of Kering would have never been a reality tbh.

I think you have a biais towards Stella but I can tell you that I wish a lot of privileged kids (celebrities, editors, authors...etc) that I’ve encountered or heard about in the industry actually chose her route instead of, like some, become influencers on social media.

I actually think she was clever for buying back her brand as her and Lee had 50% ownership of their brands.

In the original Gucci Group, from Balenciaga to Stella, they were all supposed to represent a certain idea of niche instead of the standardized vision they all have today.

It’s clear that in the ambitions of Pinault, the capacities of expansion or growth, with Stella at the helm were kinda limited.

Arnault, unlike Pinault has an interesting portfolio of brands like Loro Piana or even Moynat that are not meant to become cash-cows. And the sustainability question, while totally not interesting for the father, is an issue that totally interest the children (it’s a generation issue).

So yes, Stella was clever and I think her issue today is in terms of consistency in the collections. Her products are good and well made but the sustainability thing is great for marketing, not really to drive sales. I have clothes and shoes from her because it’s beautiful and well made.

At those prices, no matter how sustainable it is, if it’s ugly and it does not fit either your taste or the aesthetic of the brand, you won’t buy it.

The most sustainable way to consume fashion is to actually not consume at all.

 

rather mismatched with no -strong- ethos. a bit of a shame as a collection, but some of the standalone pieces are decent.

 

I want to yell at Stella, "I was rooting for you." I mean she always did stellar tailoring but this collection is a mess. The only things that work are the pants but everything else are Balenciaga rejects. It baffles me that why would she needs to go after all the trouble to find inspirations elsewhere when she has her signatures, her own design language.