Stella McCartney makes waves with ‘sea life, not sea food’ theme in zero-wool Paris show

Stella McCartney has been talking about animal rights at fashion week for 30 years. She is usually a lone voice, but the issue is back in the headlines this season. Outcry over the physical restraining of a Peta protester at a catwalk show by Steven Kolb, the president of New York fashion week’s governing body, has put cruelty in wool production – previously considered niche compared to the hot button topic of fur – on the news agenda.

“There is no wool on the runway this season, and I’m proud of that,” McCartney said after her show. She has been working on wool alternatives, including Brewed Protein, a fermented alternative to cashmere and wool developed in collaboration with the Japanese biotech firm Spiber, which was first used in her collections a year ago.

Jennifer Lopez, wearing faux fur, and Juliette Binoche on the Stella McCartney front row in Paris. Photograph: Domine Jerome/Abaca/Shutterstock

The issue, she says, is “a tricky one. I’ve got alpacas at home, and I have to shear them. If you can shear a sheep in a kind, humane way, then I don’t, personally, think that’s the end of the world. When we do have wool in our collections it is responsibly sourced. But the way a lot of [wool production] is done today is deeply cruel.

“At the end of the day it’s about how kind you are, but monitoring that kindness requires real work. At Stella, we police everything from start to finish at my cost, at my time. If I use wool, I can show you exactly where it’s coming from, and I’m proud of that. But I’m alone in that, and I shouldn’t be.”

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