PARIS — Stella McCartney presented her Spring/Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week on Wednesday. The runway show took place in the gardens of the British ambassador's residence in Paris, where it rained during the outdoor presentation.

Jennifer Lopez attended the show and sat in the front row under an umbrella, while Juliette Binoche sat near her. Karlie Kloss and Miranda Kerr walked in the runway show as models moved to PJ Harvey’s song “Down by the Water.”

The clothing palette included seafoam, sage, coral, blush, and chocolate colors. The collection featured oversized blazers with drawstrings, peplums, sheer layers, bandeaus, brief-cut shorts, second-skin leggings, boxy technical jackets, and T-shirts with airbrushed dolphins. Karlie Kloss wore a minidress with small waves curling over one shoulder, and Miranda Kerr wore a seafoam gown cinched in a knot at the waist. Evening gowns in the collection wound around the torso and dropped in unbroken columns with ruffles at the hems.

The ready-to-wear collection used recycled cotton denim, organic cotton, silk, and a black pigment grown from algae. The certified wool used in the collection is traced back to the farm. Since 2026, Stella McCartney has used Brewed Protein, a wool alternative fermented by the Japanese biotech firm Spiber. The Stella McCartney label has operated for 25 years without using leather, fur, or feathers.

In a backstage interview, Fashion Designer Stella McCartney addressed the environmental impact of consumer choices. “It’s war. We’re at war with the oceans,” she said.

She noted that animals are referred to as “sea life” when people marvel at them and “seafood” when they order them. “Who makes that decision?” she asked. She stated that for one piece of fish on a plate, nets bring up dolphins and octopuses, and most of the catch goes back over the side dead.

McCartney emphasized the balance between ethics and aesthetics. “It’s really, really important to want to wear the clothes. For me, that’s the main thing,” she said.

When asked about her broader industry role, she responded, “I’m advising him on so many things in sustainability.” This refers to her advisory role to LVMH chief Bernard Arnault on sustainability matters. Stella McCartney bought back LVMH’s minority stake in her label in 2025.

One week before the show, Stella McCartney co-founded The Climate Pledge Fashion Coalition with Amazon and the nonprofit Canopy. The coalition pools the orders of more than 60 companies to help sustainable materials reach factory scale. It aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2040. McCartney previously presented a collection at Paris Fashion Week in 2021 that also focused on environmental issues, featuring a zero-waste design approach and materials sourced from sustainable suppliers.

McCartney took her final bow wearing jeans, a white T-shirt, and a roomy blazer. During the backstage interactions, she asked, “You mean you want to talk about the clothes?”

The event marked another milestone in McCartney’s long-standing commitment to sustainable fashion. Her brand, launched in 2001, has consistently prioritized eco-conscious materials and ethical production methods. The use of algae-based pigments and fermented protein fibers reflects ongoing innovation in biotechnology applications for textiles. Collaborations with firms like Spiber highlight international efforts to scale alternatives to animal-derived materials. The inclusion of high-profile models and celebrities underscores the growing intersection of mainstream fashion and environmental advocacy. McCartney’s partnership with Amazon through the Climate Pledge Fashion Coalition also signals corporate engagement in reducing the industry’s carbon footprint. With operations based in London and presentations at major European fashion weeks, the brand maintains a global presence while adhering to its founding principles. The collection’s oceanic themes and color palette were inspired by marine ecosystems, reinforcing the designer’s message of conservation. Backstage, McCartney expressed hope that fashion could drive change without sacrificing style, reiterating that wearable design remains central to her vision.