Of all the 2010s trends we’ve seen revived on the runway this season, one has been, for the most part, notably absent: sustainability. About a decade ago, the fashion industry and its consumers seemed to be, slowly but surely, acknowledging their role in mitigating the climate crisis and facilitating a green transition. In recent years, however, the conversation seems to have died down, even as the devastating effects of climate change on human health, the environment, and supply chains have become increasingly clear. One designer who has long pioneered sustainability, however, has once again placed the issue at the core of her Summer 2027 collection: Stella McCartney.
Attended by stars such as Jennifer Lopez, Miranda Kerr, and Adot Gak, McCartney’s show invited viewers to consider a moral dilemma that has long been at the core of not only the fashion industry but human history as well: "At what point does a living creature become a commodity, and who gets to decide?" The collection, crafted from 100% responsible materials, is billed as a tribute to the ocean in particular, viewed here as an "entire living, breathing world" rather than a resource to be exploited. McCartney’s choice of subject feels particularly poignant in September 2026, as Paris (and the rest of the world) continues to recover from a life-threatening summer, and new reports confirm that the rate of ocean warming has once again reached a record high.
Despite the seriousness surrounding McCartney’s chosen subject, her collection seems determined to inject optimism and whimsy into the sustainability conversation. Throughout the collection, fluid silhouettes and light colors dominate. The opening look, for example, consists of a knee-length cream dress featuring a ruched, bubble-like detail at the waist. The lightness of the material allows it to flow freely, reminiscent of free-flowing water, while the bubble silhouette at the waist calls to mind the bubbles at the crest of an ocean wave. The look is accessorized by a latticed shoulder bag in a bright shade of coral, clearly paying tribute to one of the ocean’s most beautiful and vulnerable habitats.
The strongest point of McCartney’s collection is that she allows the oceanic theme to ripple below the surface of her designs, successfully mitigating the risk of looking costumey or caricature-esque. An excellent example of this is in look sixteen, made up of a shimmering, ombré catsuit paired with an oversized white blazer. Evoking the surface of the ocean itself, the look is at once glamorous, modern, and understated. Between the sportiness of the catsuit, the boxy tailoring of the blazer, and the sustainability of the sparkles, the look is distinctly Stella McCartney.
The collection also features a number of edgier, denim-based looks, such as in look twenty-eight. Here, McCartney takes the oceanic theme literally, printing an idyllic underwater scene onto an athletic T-shirt, worn with distressed light-wash jeans. Here, McCartney explores a different side of whimsy, using a nostalgic, kitschy print evocative of early-2000s children’s media. This allows the look to cohere with the more elegant, flowing looks seen earlier in the collection. Both are grounded in whimsical optimism and liquid-like fabrics.
In this, a versatile and optimistic Summer 2027 collection, Stella McCartney once again proves that sustainability may just be the most fashionable feature of all.
