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.
Interpretation
The essence of clothing lies in how it fits and looks on real people, rather than just in a controlled or idealized setting.
Stella McCartney's quote emphasizes the importance of practicality and reality in fashion. It suggests that the true measure of clothing is not merely its appearance in a studio or on a runway, where settings are often idealized, but rather how it interacts with and enhances a real person's body and individuality. This perspective challenges superficial beauty standards and underscores the need for authenticity in fashion.
In practice
In a fashion show discussion, to highlight the importance of real-world application of designs.
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.
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.
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.
In Italy they take cheap cloth and make it look expensive, but I take expensive cloth and make it look cheap. They just don't understand.
Wear what you feel comfortable with. People say nasty things about what I wear in the street. I'm always in worst dressed lists, but you just have to dress for yourself and nobody else.
The difference between style and fashion is quality.
When you're young, you think that clothes are almost magical, and that if you wear the right thing - to school, to the prom, on the date, etc. - something's going to happen. Black, it's the anti-magical thing. It comes from the recognition that it is not going to be 'the' dress.
On a hanger, no dress is sexy. It's just fabric on a hanger.
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.
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