I never want to promote an ad that makes women feel bad about themselves, because when I was young, I never felt rich enough or fashionable enough or good enough. I felt talked down to by luxury fashion labels. There was a disconnect. They made me feel we weren't right for each other.
Interpretation
Promoting body positivity and self-acceptance in advertising.
Stella McCartney emphasizes the importance of creating advertising that uplifts and empowers women, contrasting her own experiences with luxury fashion labels that made her feel inadequate. She advocates for a more inclusive approach that connects with women, allowing them to feel valued and confident rather than diminished by the marketing messages they encounter.
In practice
Sharing this quote at a fashion conference to discuss ethical advertising.
I've had people say to me, 'You'll never sell handbags. You don't work with leather, and leather is luxury.' To me, it's the complete opposite: leather is everywhere - it's so cheap a material; it's so mass produced. Over 50 million animals a year are killed just for fashion. For me, it doesn't have a luxury element to it.
It's not about what it looks like in the studio or on the runway. It's what it looks like on a real person that matters.
I think the moment that I'm very proud of is building a business without using animals. And, hopefully, changing people's perception of how you can do luxury fashion.
I've had my own moments in front of designers when I've actually said, 'You know, there's a market here for expanding your work, and here it is. And frankly, there are two markets: The women who are larger than the 12, and then there are women who are petite. And most designers that I talk to have absolutely no interest in addressing either of those populations, which I find repugnant.
Fashion is about going ahead, not about memory.
Fashion should be about making clothes that make all women look beautiful, not making women starve so that they can fit in a size 8.
I love black dresses. I think everyone should own a lot, but black dresses don't sell online because on the computer they don't read like anything.
Today couture has to be expensive, but it shouldn’t look expensive.
Style begins by looking good naked
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