Stella McCartney Launches Bridalwear

After the Duchess of Sussex’s second wedding dress – that high-neck, low-backed, floor-sweeping Stella McCartney gown – broke the internet, who could blame the designer for branching out into bridalwear? Reader, that time has come.

Available to order now, the 17-piece “Made With Love” collection builds on the brand’s eveningwear offering and the capsule of 23 lily-white and 23 onyx-black recreations of the Duchess’s wedding dress, which launched in June 2018 to celebrate the opening of McCartney’s 23 Old Bond Street flagship.

Seven dresses, a lace embroidered jumpsuit (available in pure white and rich scarlet) and an ivory tuxedo are highlights, but noteworthy is the fact that each piece is underlined with McCartney’s commitment to sustainable fashion. Just like viscose, she has proved that there are modern versions of couture fabrics, like lace and chiffon, that are just as luxurious as their environmentally damaging counterparts.

The Duchess’s evening gown, which was commissioned for her wedding reception at Frogmore House, was not McCartney’s first foray into bridalwear. “Having been a bride myself and honoured to make wedding gowns for some of my dear friends, it’s something that I feel very passionately about,” McCartney tells Vogue. “I really do see it as one of the biggest privileges as a female designer to know that women come into our stores and buy pieces to wear for the most important day of their lives. I think that the house of Stella McCartney represents something a little more effortless, and that’s incredibly reflective of the bride and her personality and what she wants to wear even outside of that important day.”

Each piece has this thoughtfulness stitched into the seams via a blue tag featuring a personal message from McCartney. “There’s something blue and there’s something new,” she explains. “When thinking about the name of the collection, I wanted to give it a name that just felt more personal and more loving and really reflects the feeling and the experience of that special day.”

As for the Duchess’s dress, she says, “It has truly been one of the most humbling moments of my career. I've made a lot of wedding dresses for a lot of high-profile people – none as high-profile as that obviously – but I've always felt very protective over that moment and to be entrusted means a lot to me.”

The 17-piece Stella McCartney "Made with Love" bridal collection is available exclusively in select Stella McCartney stores globally as well as at select retail partners including Harrods, Net-a-porter.com, Selfridges, Saks Fifth Avenue and Nordstrom now. Prices start at £675.