Who is the Stella McCartney woman? She’s an oat milk latte powered corporate creative girl boss. An experiential go-getter of epic proportions whose curiousty for life knows no bounds. Vegan by day, a cheeky chateau briand by night because life’s too short. Shes a weekend habit of one too many Picantes before winding up in a strip club—purely for the irony, of course. For A/W 25, McCartney tapped into this very specific energy: the office-to-after-hours pipeline where a grey pencil skirt signals a power move by day, only to be hiked up in the name of some watered-down rebellion by night.
Set against a backdrop of stripper poles and corporate pantomime, models in 1980s power suits strutted through the space like secretaries one tequila shot away from a regrettable decision. It was a well-worn fashion trope—the workwear-meets-wild-side narrative—but McCartney, ever the pragmatist, zhuzhed it up with her signature sustainability messaging. Mock leathers and exotic skins for the corporate queens of the jungle. The question is, does the sustainable slant make the concept of office-core any less tired? Because if this was meant to be subversive sexuality, it landed somewhere closer to the giggly energy of a hen do stumbling into a Soho sex shop, pointing at the dildos before scurrying off to terrorize the town.
And yet, the guest list suggested some form of cultural weight—Tom Ford, Ice Spice, Cameron Diaz, and Olivia Colman, all nestled within Anna Wintour’s impenetrable bubble. A mix of fashion, Hollywood, and pop culture, all watching as McCartney attempted to reframe dominance in the boardroom as dominance in the bedroom. It could have been interesting—Hodakova and Dilara Findikoglu have explored similar themes with far more bite—but here, it felt like a knowing wink that never quite turned into a full statement.
At its core, this collection was Stella doing what Stella does: tailoring, sustainable materials, and just enough cheek to make it feel ‘fun’. But in a world where subversive sexuality is being dissected and redefined by a new generation, McCartney’s version felt less like a bold feminist statement and more like a work drinks night that spiralled out of control. Sex, sustainability, and Stella—always a reliable trio, but this time, the afterparty was more memorable than the main event.
