Stella McCartney show featured 'upcycled' clothes during Paris Fashion Week

The show was dedicated to 'the ones we love in the past, present and future'

Stella McCartney showcased upcycled clothes during Paris Fashion Week (Getty)

Stella McCartney presented a new collection at Paris Fashion Week made from “upcycled” materials.

The British designer’s line, unveiled Monday during a show at the Opera Garnier in Paris, featured dresses made from vintage T-shirts stripped and knotted together.

The process of upcycling sees discarded products reused to create a new product of higher quality.

Of her decision to embrace used materials, the designer told the Guardian: “There were second hand T-shirts that were going to get thrown away or burned or landfilled, which we cut into strips and made knitwear out of.”

And the shoes featured on the runway and created in partnership with Hunter Boots followed the theme, as they may be the “most sustainable ever made”, according to the designer’s Instagram.

But apart from showcasing bright colours and statement shoulders through upcycled materials, the designer’s latest collection offered much more in terms of raising awareness and saving the environment – as it was part of McCartney’s new campaign to protect the Leuser Ecosystem, an endangered forest in Sumatra, Indonesia, that is home to orangutans, elephants, tigers and rhinos.

Invites for the show included vacuum-packed oak tree leaves, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and invited attendees to join the “There She Grows” campaign by dedicating a tree to the forest.

According to the news outlet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Pink, Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon and Rooney Mara have already pledged their support for the cause – with the designer’s show also drawing Oprah Winfrey as a front-row attendee.

According to McCartney’s Instagram, the show was “dedicated to the ones we love in the past, present and future”.

McCartney’s 2019 Fall/Winter collection is the designer’s latest commitment to sustainable fashion.

As a proponent and pioneer of eco-friendly clothes and a fur-free industry, McCartney has previously committed to only using “vegetarian leather” in her designs.

The designer also explains the brand’s dedication to sustainability on its website, where it states: “We use a breakthrough decision-making tool called the Environmental Profit and Loss to measure and understand our impact on the environment that goes far beyond traditional environmental reporting.”

The trend of sustainability and a focus on the environment has been a common theme this year, with the BBC unveiling a new sustainable fashion line during London Fashion Week and climate change protestors using the platform to raise awareness.