TALL TALES: Stella McCartney has tapped Amelia Gray for a new campaign featuring the latest iteration of the Elyse, a vegan platform shoe with wavy treads that debuted at the brand’s fall 2014 runway show.
The limited-edition capsule, which includes mycelium-based alternatives to snakeskin and cruelty-free croc made with repurposed apple waste, will be available at Stella McCartney boutiques worldwide and via stellamccartney.com from Thursday.
A new personalization service will also be available in-store and online. For a limited time, customers will be able to add brass initial charms, available at select Stella McCartney boutiques worldwide, to their shoes.
Amelia Gray in the new Stella McCartney campaign for the Elyse.
In the ads, Gray is wearing Stella McCartney tailored clothing, lingerie and Stellawear swimwear. The shoot is meant to highlight “the limitless versatility and day-to-night appeal,” of the Elyse.
The limited-edition shoes have been done in tonal gray and navy, with two standalone styles made from mycelium-based python and apple-based crocodile vegan leather alternatives.
Over the years the distinctive style has become a celebrity favorite, and has been worn by Kendall Jenner, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Rihanna, Gigi Hadid, Oprah and Viola Davis, among others.
Amelia Gray in Stellawear and the new Elyse shoe.
The Elyse rests on a sustainably sourced, FSC-certified wooden wedge and a saw-edged micro-sole. Each pair is handcrafted in Italy using 100 percent cruelty-free materials and is vegan down to the glue, according to the brand.
The brand touts the shoe as “comfortable, giving height, lengthening the legs and making a bold statement,” and says it’s a blend of “masculine and feminine, classic and sporty.”
Gray has been on a streak this summer, promoting Puma’s spiky Mostro style in an “after dark” campaign in which she showcases a new yellow and black colorway. In that campaign, which broke in June, she wears the “Pelé Yellow” Mostro with red Puma socks, blue jeans and a Puma T-shirt.
Earlier this year, Gray appeared in the spring womenswear campaign for Givenchy. Echoing the spring’s bright white runway, Gray wore designs from the penultimate Givenchy collection designed by former creative director Matthew M. Williams, who exited the brand on Jan. 1.
