Stella McCartney, the London fashion designer born in 1971, came to lingerie in 2008 with Stella McCartney Lingerie, a line made under license by the New Zealand manufacturer Bendon. The license ran until September 2017, and since June 2018 the Italian firm ISA Spa has produced her lingerie and textile ranges.
From Chloe to her own house
McCartney graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1995. Two years later she was named creative director of Chloe in Paris, a post she held until 2001. That year she launched her own house as a joint venture with the Gucci Group, now Kering.
The house extended in stages. A perfume, Stella, came in 2003, an organic skincare line in 2007, the lingerie in 2008, children's wear in 2010 and menswear in 2016.
No leather, no fur, no PVC
The rule that defines her label was there from the first collection. The company says it has used no leather, fur, skins, feathers or animal glues since 2001, and it went PVC-free in 2010. McCartney is a lifelong vegetarian.
In lingerie the rule matters less than in shoes and bags, since bras and briefs rarely use leather or fur. An older version of this page made large claims for her intimates, including organic cotton and recycled lace across the range and an industry-wide influence on materials. Those could not be confirmed and have been removed.
Stella McCartney lingerie and the Bendon license
Very few fashion designers make bras themselves. Cup grading, wire channels and elastics need specialist factories, so the usual route is a license, and that is what McCartney chose. She partnered with Bendon in 2007, and the first collection reached stores in early 2008. In 2016 she announced plans to add swimwear with Bendon the following year.
The arrangement ended in September 2017, when Bendon confirmed it was ending the relationship. Production moved to ISA Spa, an Italian textile company, from June 2018.
Adidas, 2004
Her first big licensed partnership was not lingerie but sportswear. In September 2004 she set up a joint-venture line with Adidas, which put her name on performance clothing, the category that includes the sports bra, years before her own underwear appeared.
Compression bras for breast cancer patients
In October 2018 she launched the Stella McCartney Cares Foundation in memory of her mother, Linda. Its first stated aim was to donate 1,000 post-operative mastectomy compression bras. The old text described a "landmark" post-mastectomy bra design; the sources describe donated compression bras, and the claim has been narrowed to match.
Who owns the house
Ownership has changed three times since the lingerie launched. In April 2018 McCartney bought out Kering's stake and took full control. In 2019 she formed a partnership with LVMH, which took a minority stake. In January 2025 she bought that stake back, returning the house to full independent ownership.
Last updated
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org: Stella McCartney
- en.wikipedia.org: Bendon Group
- stellamccartney.com: sustainability