Kering's White Ribbon campaign has been close to Stella McCartney's heart since its inception. In 2012, she designed the badge to coincide with the international day for the elimination of violence against women on November 25, and has been an outspoken advocate of gender equality. She returns to the campaign this year alongside fellow designers Alessandro Michele, Christopher Kane and Joseph Altuzarra, who all share personal stories centred around the theme of #ICouldHaveBeen.
What most concerns McCartney is that in the five years since the launch of Kering's initiative, not enough appears to have changed. “We all know the issue facing men and women today," she says. "It doesn’t take a genius to realise that for many hundreds of years women have been treated as second rate citizens, and it’s not acceptable anymore. We have as many rights as men and we need to have more confidence in ourselves and allow ourselves to have a voice. And we need to do this with the support and help of men by our side.”
Solidarity is key to McCartney's message and something she has long promoted in her own business, which has been a trailblazer on issues ranging from ethical fashion to animal rights. “It’s incredibly important for our brand to show that equality is the future," she explains. "We are nearly 80 per cent women in our company, and out of that comes a great deal of strength. At the same time, we appreciate and value men and I think that’s really the future conversation. We need to support each other in this fight for equality. We can't do this alone.”
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