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Stella McCartney: Street Slang with a Bang
By Godfrey Deeny
Photos by Gruber and Jennifer Graylock-FWD
Click on image to see bigger photo.
Paris, Oct 8, 2001/ FWD/ --- Stella McCartney launched her new fashion house in Paris Monday,
presenting a collection emblazoned with rhyming Cockney slang that had the punchy tang of a hit
from the get go.
After rebuilding Chloe from a has-been into a hot commodity in four years, Stella got her label
off to a snappy start in front of Domenico de Sole, the boss of Gucci group, McCartney's partner.
Helpfully, the invitations were mini dictionaries of English and Cockney, the east London argot
Madonna is reported to be currently studying.
Sleek, silky ecru suits bore the word "Whistle,"
as Cockney for suit is “whistle and flute.” Meanwhile, a bride in top hat had "Trouble" on her
elongated frock coat. (The world-weary Cockneys refer to a bride as "trouble and strife.")
At times the dictionaries were not needed: tight little black knickers bore one word, "WET,"
while T-shirt dresses read "Slippery when wet."
As at Chloe, Stella's front row bristled with British celebs and rock'n'roll aristocracy, as
dad Paul and stepmom Heather sat beside rocker Chrissie Hynde, Jude Law and his wife Sadie Frost.
None of them, however, looked quite so distinguished as two men in goatees: Dennis Hopper, with
wife and daughter, and the venerable Peter Blake, the artist who designed the cover of Sgt.
Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Set before a backdrop with Stella's new dotted logo lit in bright red lights and a mesh of
green lasers, the models strutted forth in a flurry of steamy negligee looks: naughty minis,
dresses that morphed into culottes, cutout leotards attached to lace tights.
McCartney's other big ideas were making loose blouses out of drawings by Gary Hume and covering
sequined jackets with images of monkeys and horses.
It didn't all work, and at times one missed the more poetic mood she created at Chloe. This
collection also may not spark a fashion revolution, but many of its outfits will walk right
out of the stores.
"I think we are going to do very, very well with this collection," purred Bloomingdale's fashion
director Kal Ruttenstein, the most important buyer in Europe this season.
The McCartney woman is always poised somewhere between the boudoir and racing off with her
boyfriend’s backstage pass clutched in her hand.
One still hears the occasional mean voice at Stella’s shows lamenting that the designer's
upbringing as a rock star’s daughter somehow prevents her from relating to real women.
But the reality is that thousands of young women dream of being just like Stella and wearing
the clothes that embody her lifestyle.
At her finale, Stella emerged wearing a flat cap and tight jeans to pose, making a peace sign
with both hands, in front of the battery of photographers.
Poignantly, as the models perched on a giant revolving centerpiece, out of the speakers came
John Lennon's great anthem "All You Need is Love."
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