The message was clear: At McCartney’s fashion house, animals are inspiration—never resources.
In the world of luxury fashion, no other label champions cruelty-free designs quite like Stella McCartney. Since the inception of her namesake label in 2001, the British-American designer has deliberately avoided using leather, fur, feathers, or animal skins in any of its collections. Instead, she uses innovative alternatives, such as Mylo mushroom leather, Bio-sequins, and regenerative cotton that she herself help develop.
The sustainable fashion pioneer continued to raise the bar for eco-friendly fashion with her latest collection, which celebrates the Year of the Horse. McCartney, on March 4, staged a majestic spectacle at the riding hall of Société Equestrienne de Paris, where she paraded her Fall/Winter 2026 collection around a dozen horses.
These horses—half black, half white—stepped into the ring ahead of the models, sending the message that in McCartney’s fashion house, animals come first. The gallant equines moved in choreographed patterns and playfully rolled across the ground, following the cues of horse artist Jean-François Pignon.
By stepping into the spotlight, they reaffirmed the house’s push for fashion that embraces animals as inspiration rather than resources. In true McCartney fashion, no leather, fur, nor feathers were used in the collection. There was no compromise.
McCartney has long stood for cruelty-fashion, but what makes horses her latest muse? “It’s the Year of the Horse and I’ll do anything I can to get near a horse, to be honest with you,” the designer told media outlets, such as WWD, after the show. “So I thought I’d bring them to my day job and have equine therapy.”
The result was a show that highlighted the serene beauty of humans and animals living in harmony. “I try to remind people in the world of fashion that we don’t have to kill animals and we can work with them,” McCartney added.
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Fashion with horsepower
Like previous seasons, McCartney’s Fall/2026 collection uses 93% sustinable and 100% cruelty-free materials. “Every year, 1 billion animals are killed for leather, including horses. We never harm any,” the house wrote on Instagram.
These fabrics are certitied 93% sustainable too. “We’ve worked with spider silk spun in labs, grown handbags from mushrooms, and turned apple waste into shoes,” the designer wrote in a separate Instagram post. “We’ve saved hundreds of millions of animal lives, protected forests, and kept countless tons of waste out of landfills. And we’ve proven you don’t have to sacrifice craft, fit, or style to do the right thing.”
Ethically sourced textiles form the foundation of this collection. Still, it’s subtle enough that you might miss it at first glance. The first look, for example, was a floor-length faux-fur coat, so convincing it demanded a second look. It flowed into the chunky fisherman rib knits and hand-crocheted scarves that nod to her childhood at Mull of Kintyre with parents Paul and Linda McCartney.
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It struck a balance between masculine and feminine, structure and ease. Soft tailoring met defined shoulders, and corporate suiting was crafted to breathe. Plastic-free sequined dresses glimmered elegantly without being overbearing.
Standout moments include a roomy peacoat with oversized martingale and thigh-high boots, a soft basque shawl-collar jacket paired with cargo trousers, high-necked long-sleeve dresses with optional handkerchief peplums, and a liquid-like silver sequined halter with crisply tailored black slacks.
The final look featured a tank top that read, “My Dad Is A Rockstar,” which the model paraded as Paul McCartney—The Beatles member, rock star, and a proud father to Stella—applauded in the front row.
Watch the Stella McCartney Fall 2026 show below:
