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By Team GRAZIA

PFW: At Stella McCartney, A Call To Save The Birds

The designer’s SS25 collection packed a powerful punch with a plea to ban real feathers from the fashion industry

PARIS, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 30: A model walks the runway during the Stella McCartney Paris Womenswear Spring-Summer 2025 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on September 30, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Stephane Cardinale – Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)

A cloud-free market area on Avenue de Saxe in Paris became a veritable canvas for Stella McCartney’s superb Spring/Summer 2025 collection, where fashion, art, and sustainability converged in a one big spectacle. As one of the industry’s foremost advocates for eco-conscious design, McCartney’s latest offering was a masterclass in how luxury can coexist harmoniously with environmental responsibility. The best way to do that right now? Ban real feathers from the fashion industry, she says.

“1.5 billion birds are killed for their feathers by the fashion industry every year,” the designer said backstage. “When you see a pretty feather trim, or a puffer jacket with a down filling, I don’t think you necessarily register that a bird has been killed. And we all love birds, right? People don’t really like cows, for some reason, so it’s different when you talk about leather. But birds are beautiful, and it is time to bring this issue to the attention of the industry.”

Soundtrack by Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and Helen Mirren narrating a short manifesto at the beginning of the show—“A world where there are only planes in the sky, and no song in the trees, will never make the heart soar”—McCartney showed the world multiple ways to dupe a bird’s feather. One way included using regenerated nylon, and knitting it into a texture which resemble feathers. Elsewhere, volume was favoured with fluffy, spherical minis, floaty floor-length gowns, and expert draping. There were sheer lace, crinkled silk and denim, graphic tanks and vegan leather pants. Accessories, too, played an integral role, featuring handbags made from sustainable vegan leather a la the Stella Ryder, one whose shape mirrors that of a horse’s back. Jewellery, made from recycled electronics waste, had little dove motifs on them.

Earlier this year, Copenhagen Fashion Week, a leader in ethical fashion, announced a ban on feathers for all designers showing on its schedule. Like McCartney’s show, it’s a small, vital step. Little wins drawing us one step closer to a world where elegance and environmental stewardship walk hand in hand.

See highlights from Stella McCartney’s Spring/Summer 2025 show below.