When the Queen – sorry – celebrated English actors Olivia Coleman (The Crown, 2016-2023) and Helen Mirren (The Queen, 2006), tell you it’s about fucking time: you sit up and listen. This was the sentiment at Stella McCartney’s AW24 show.

Coleman and Mirren kicked it off by reading a McCartney original manifesto, “Its about fucking time”, demanding for climate reform. It’s almost as if lyricism is in the brain behind it’s blood.

Speaking of lyricism, it’s a rarity to spot a Beatle these days, but two? Sitting in the front row Stella’s father, Paul McCartney, sat alongside bandmate, Ringo Star to show their support. Seated next to them was British rapper M.I.A and sportiest of them all, Mel. C of the Spice Girls. Talk about a musical meet-up.

Themed around Mother Earth, the collection tapped into some of Stella’s own memories with nature. The clashing lines of tweed were inspired by a garden path from her childhood home; other pieces pulled from her personal archives, returning to the essence of what the Stella McCartney woman wears – a wardrobe DNA defined by sensual cuts, elevated textures, and exaggerated proportions.

Outerwear pushed for a sculpted silhouette through enlarged shouldered trench coats, double-breasted wool blazers and cocooning overcoats. Denim was cut from regenerative cotton, and embellished with both silver popper detailing and chestnut fabric. Croc-embossed coats and skirts were constructed from Uppeal – a vegan alternative to animal skin. McCartney, always the environmentalist, lead by example. 90 per cent of the clothes that came out were made from environmentally and ethically responsible materials.

Those bulbous silhouettes were inspired by the designer’s mother, Linda, and the extra padded attire she tends to sport. Even the evening-wear felt exaggerated. Glitter-infused taffeta dresses with flowy trains, colourful looped-knit mini dresses and a slinky skin-tight baby blue midi dress all had overstated shoulders. It was an ’80s love affair.

Elsewhere, chain-mail-like crystal rivets delivered decorative tailoring throughout the collection, overflowing from the bottom hem of blazers, up into the necklines of dresses, along the edges of coats and onto one of the show’s luscious finale pieces: a completely sheer top with a low waisted white satin skirt – perhaps signalling a return to a clean, virginal planet.

stellamccartney.com