STELLA MCCARTNEY
By Sara Dal Monte
I watched Stella McCartney’s show hoping for that click that makes you sit up straighter. It never came. I recognize the consistency of her message and language, but the result felt like a long replay of familiar themes, neatly arranged and light on risk. It wants to be responsible and contemporary, but lands as polite rather than necessary.
The construction is smooth, yet rarely gripping. The menswear-tailored suits don’t add a new line, the slip dresses offer a tidy, predictable sensuality, and the sporty inserts feel more like filler than an idea. Too often it read as a wardrobe already on the sales floor—shiny and ready, not especially memorable. A runway needs a reason to stick; here, the reason is hard to find.
I’m not questioning the ethical framework or material research, which I respect. What’s missing is a formal spark: a cut that shifts the eye, a proportion that makes you reconsider the body, a detail capable of turning a garment into an image. When everything is this correct, the feeling slides off. It’s like a perfectly played song that never changes key.
Accessories fare better. Some bags have a convincing industrial clarity, with crisp volumes and thoughtful handles, and a few metallic accents provide the only real “beat” of the show. The shoes, in the leaner styles, give the looks a credible stride. Those were the moments when I felt an idea get close to real life with a bit of character.
The rest hovers in cautious balance. It doesn’t ask much of the eye; it doesn’t ask much of the body. I understand the desire for wearability, but wearability isn’t the absence of risk. It’s risk resolved well. Here, subtraction turns into caution, and caution, over time, slips into flatness.
My takeaway: a clean, respectable collection. I’m not arguing with restraint; I’m arguing with inertia. In a week that demands clear visions, this show leaves me little to take home beyond a few solid accessories. No real opening. And when I leave a runway, I need at least one slit where the light gets in.
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SARA DAL MONTE 