LONDON — Stella McCartney is taking her sustainability campaign to Central Saint Martin’s, becoming the first industry ambassador for its new M School, which offers fashion, jewelry and textile courses.
“Central Saint Martins is where I found my voice as a designer and business founder. I’m here to champion sustainable materials, encourage innovators to engage with education and push for meaningful support so the next generation has the tools to lead,” said the designer.
McCartney graduated from CSM, part of the University of the Arts London, in 1995. She received an honorary degree from University of the Arts London in 2012.
McCartney has been a sustainability trailblazer for more than two decades, having eschewed fur, feathers and other animal byproducts since she founded her brand in 2001.
“Creativity begins long before the sketch — it starts with the decisions of how and what we make. If fashion is going to change, education has to be at the center of that,” she said during a conversation with Sarah Mower, British Fashion Council ambassador and a fashion journalist.
In the early days of her label, McCartney said she faced pushback from the luxury fashion industry for her eco-friendly and animal-free designs.
“I was pretty ridiculed,” she said. “The snobbery and elitism around the fashion industry and luxury sector has never come comfortably to me anyway.”
She added that leather, though used across the industry, “is the most un-luxurious and un-glamorous material on Earth.”
McCartney also talked about her efforts to develop regenerative materials and her work with textile innovators to develop products such as mycelium leather and sequins made from seaweed.
She added while 98 percent of her 2026 pre-fall collection was made from responsible materials, there is still much work to be done. She said developing sustainable materials and manufacturing needs constant investment, while the wider industry needs to adopt environmentally-conscious practices.
After the talk, attendees browsed eight types of sustainable materials used by McCartney. Items ranged from a gold pendant made by The Royal Mint out of recycled gold and silver to a mini dress made with plant-based feathers.
