The American artist Frank Stella once said that he “could tell a story with shapes”. Paris fashion week has done this too, all the way from Christian Dior’s triumphant postwar new look to the more recent apocalypse-luxe of Vetements’ oversized streetwear.
Stella McCartney, whose clothes tend to be about cool silhouettes rather than embroidery or ruffles, has long felt an affinity with Stella that goes beyond their sharing a name. Stella by Stella, presented on the rooftop of the Pompidou Centre, was both a fashion collection and a celebration of the artist.
Stella’s 1988 collage piece Ahab was transposed “pure and direct from the canvas” on to fluid stretch viscose dresses, McCartney said. Other prints were dissected, with elements taken out “to extract something more palatable and wearable” that would be appealing rather than overwhelming on a blouse or dress.
