Sustainable fashion designer Stella McCartney takes inspiration from The Beatles’ often, but with her pre-fall 2022 collection, her take on the band’s Get Back era style delivers on the lingering pandemic mood. It also fills a big sustainable fashion gap: worthy vegan leather cowboy boots.
McCartney is no stranger to the Beatles—she’s the daughter of Paul McCartney. And even though the recording sessions preceded McCartney, she’s captivated by them. And the new collection, which she’s a dubbed “a view into the life of a multifaceted ambitious woman with a hippie spirit,” she brings Beatles style to life.
“Get Back is my favorite period of fashion. It was a period when I wasn’t born yet, but the fashion didn’t change much in the years after,” McCartney told Vogue.
“When you’re a kid you don’t think about any of it, but it was definitely impactful. I knew I wanted to be a fashion designer very early on from the memories I had looking at my parents’ wardrobes and going on to Savile Row. For me, it goes beyond the look and the image, obviously. It’s what smells I associate with it… I had access to touching those suits. They were in my life. They’re very important memories for me,” she said.
Get Back era style
Get Back, the recent eight-hour Disney+ series directed by Peter Jackson, was recorded in early 1969 at the height of hippie style. It documents the recording sessions for the band’s final album, Let It Be.
Last November, when the series debuted, McCartney dropped a Get Back Beatles’ branded collection.
“The film [captured] such a special, precious moment— it’s epic,” Stella said at the time. “I wanted the collection to feel like a real moment too, and [highlight] the emotional family link I have. I think it goes a step beyond a ‘normal’ collaboration in that respect.”
The styles throughout the series show as much glam and sophistication as the laidback bohemian looks popular at the time. Vests, fur, suits, and lots of bold prints and colors dominate as do tailored suits, sweaters, and turtlenecks. Monotone outfits were prominent, too: black-on-black suits and white-on-white, in particular the ensembles worn by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.
“It’s of John and Yoko, and I’ve always loved how he looks in it. It’s the perfect cut, the perfect lapel, the perfect everything,” McCartney said.
The decision to embrace the throwback style is a byproduct of the last two years, says McCartney. “I think the pandemic has definitely brought out the hippie in more people. They’re aware of their mental health and what they need to survive and be their best selves,” she said. “It’s this memory of those first days of lockdown and what that brought to us. Now we’re all here again, but let’s keep the beauty that came out of Covid present in our lives going forward.”
Like the Get Back styles, the new collection is all about layers and modern takes on staples with warm and bright colors, prints, and the designer’s new monogram. There are masculine fitted blazers, floral prints, and sultry dresses that drip with late ’60s and early ’70s glam.
Sustainable Stella
The collection is one of McCartney’s most sustainable to date with more than 70 percent of the collection coming from responsibly sourced and produced materials.
“New innovations include Humana post-consumer recycled denim made from clothing waste and pieces crafted with repurposed deadstock fabrics from LVMH’s Nona Source platform,” the label said in a statement.
But it’s McCartney’s take on the classic cowboy boot that’s the collection’s standout. It’s not her first cowboy-style boot—she’s done several for adults and children’s collections. But this one is as traditional as it gets. McCartney says she’s wanted to make a traditional vegan cowboy boot for some time.
“I’ve never been able to get one,” she said. “I have loads of vintage ones from my mum, who would horse-ride in them.”
McCartney has never used leather in her designs. And in recent collections, she’s embraced more sustainable leather alternatives. Her Spring-Summer 2022 collection released last fall saw the runway debut of her Frayme handbag made with Mylo mushroom leather—a years-long partnership with Bolt Threads to make a sustainable leather alternative that has the suppleness and durability of conventional leather.