For the Spring/Summer 2021 season, Stella McCartney decided to switch gears and give her pieces a post-gender makeover. Coming in in collaboration with legendary Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara (the first-ever fashion project for him), the punky Shared Spring/Summer 2021 capsule is taking the multidisciplinary maker’s cheeky resistance and rebelliousness and channeling them into conscious urban pieces, personifying a need to be connected today and using activism and optimism to create a brighter tomorrow.
Nara‘s work is setting the tone for Stella McCartney’s Shared collection, disrupting iconic styles with novel twists, while aligning Stella’s global tribe around the Old Bond Street logo. Bridging art, subculture and street culture, the artist is fluent in the style of youth in revolt — with a signature punk attitude valorizing non-conformity, free thought and individuality. Shared SS21 includes rare, collectible ready-to-wear pieces and accessories like graphic coordinated silk sets and organic cotton tops emblazoned with his iconic illustrations of animalistic children, alongside rallying phrases like ‘We are punks’, ‘Change the history’ and ‘Don’t waste another day!’
New for this summery range are wearable (and shareable) hoodies and joggers accented with logo taping; next to them are vegan leather trousers and shorts, emphasizing positivity in shades of uplifting cream and sky blue. The signature Savile Row tailoring is recut in bold, relaxed silhouettes that defy gender: double-breasted blazers in traceable wool paired with utilitarian cargo and elasticated waist trousers; classic British trench coats revisited and refreshed with stripe details and the white Old Bond Street logo. Organic cotton wardrobe archetypes cover oversized tees, sweatshirts and hoodies featuring contrast-logo detailing, expanding this spirit of youthful athleticism with new sleeveless T-shirts, Bermuda shorts and accessories like boldly colored socks and snoods.
With Shared Spring/Summer 2021, it is all about accessibility, individuality and creating space for a rising, progressive generation to freely express themselves. Protesting today while protecting tomorrow, this new range is among the brand’s most sustainable collections to date. Full of eco-friendly element and carryover materials that are kind to Mother Earth — organic cotton, forest-friendly viscose, recycled cashmere and traceable wool — the collection also features timeless designs that allow for the pieces to be worn over and over, cherished forever in efforts to reduce the need to buy more. After all, true sustainability is all about creating less waste to begin with.
Interpreting this punky, nonconformist attitude of the collection is a group of diverse next-gen creatives: model Iris Law explores shared experiences of identity and freedom with her partner, model and artist Jyrrel Roberts; artist Ahlamalik will release his original track “West Side” on the 7th of March, also appearing in the campaign with his brother Ahlijah Williams and Sasha Mallory.
Click through the gallery below to check out the collection’s remixed timeless staples, energized with unexpected details: