Stella McCartney Is the OG of Nontraditional Fashion Shows—8 of Her Best Garden Parties, Game Nights, and Concerts Inline
Photo: Getty Images1/8Just a couple of months ago, McCartney debuted her first-ever men’s collectsion in a big way: She took over Abbey Road Studios, where her father, Paul McCartney (heard of him?), recorded the album of the same name with The Beatles back in 1969. Vogue.com’s Sarah Mower called it “a mini-Glastonbury of a night,” complete with performances from The Beastie Boys, Beth Ditto, and more. Kate Moss was there, too.
Photo: Courtesy of Adidas by Stella McCartney2/8Stella McCartney is ahead of her time in a lot of ways, from her leather- and fur-free collectsions to her belief in comfortable, real-life clothing. She was also one of the first designers to embrace luxury athletic gear with her Adidas x Stella McCartney collectsions. In early November, she staged an immersive event in Los Angeles, where models arranged in five groups practiced different workouts in the new aSMC collectsion: Eniko Mihalik led a group on the treadmills, while others “recovered” with paddleboard yoga. At the time, McCartney told Replica Handbag Store Runway: “There’s never been a compromise between what I do in fashion and what I bring to this collaboration.”
Photo: REX3/8It shouldn’t come as a surprise that music is the main event at many of McCartney’s parties. Last year, she rolled out the red carpet at Amoeba Records in Hollywood to celebrate Pre-Fall ’16. The Beach Boys performed, Katy Perry and Gwyneth Paltrow mingled among the stacks of record players, and models in leopard-printed faux furs and tulle dresses played arcade games.
Photo: REX4/8Fancy a game of mini golf? For Pre-Fall ’15, McCartney took over the Convent of the Sacred Heart on the Upper East Side, where models in fuzzy hats, head-to-toe ribbed knits, and cat-printed jumpsuits played mini golf and ping-pong in between dancing to a four-piece band.
Photo: REX5/8McCartney has hosted several Resort garden parties at the Elizabeth Street Garden, a small, sculpture-studded plot of land between apartment buildings in Nolita. For Resort ’15, models in her signature striped dresses and mask-printed playsuits strolled through the grass and blew bubbles with the likes of Cara Delevingne and Lorne Michaels. It certainly beat a chilly showroom.
Photo: REX6/8The landmark Upper East Side building for the Americas Society served as the backdrop for McCartney’s Pre-Fall ’13 presentation, where models in jewel-toned coats played board games or posed for artists who sketched their portraits on giant pads of paper. Whether McCartney chooses a grand ballroom or a tiny, overgrown garden, the vibe is the same: cool, laid-back, and above all, fun.
Photo: Getty Images7/8During the Spring ’17 shows, several designers staged their presentations in the New York Marble Cemetery on Second Avenue, but McCartney may have gotten there first. For Resort ’13, she set up a carnival in the East Village cemetery complete with ring tosses and lemonade stands. It was a perfect setting for the models’ nearly neon suits and oversize floral blazers—standout pieces that still look great more than four years later.
Photo: REX8/8For Pre-Fall ’12, McCartney chose the romantic West Village haunt One If By Land, Two If By Sea. There was a light equestrian vibe in the models’ riding boots, three-button blazers, and buffalo-check coats, but the coolest girls in the room were in full-on suits. They didn’t look stiff or serious, though—they shot pool and played Scrabble, and made a strong case for McCartney’s now-signature tailoring.
