THE Gen Z delirium surrounding #Y2K seems almost inescapable right now, denoting the crop tee renaissance and monogram mania. And it appears elements of the 2000s is reverberating across the Spring 2022 shows, with Stella McCartney serving up the era in nightclub-appropriate clothing, with a splash of sherbet tones and a side dish of cyberpunk codes.
To devise the collection, the designer took her cue from the McCartney A to Z Manifesto – the brand’s blueprint – landing on Y for youth. And similar to many collections this Resort season, McCartney’s also reads like a love letter to the digital generation of today, who are eagerly waiting to savour the first taste of youth.
McCartney’s models swayed and staggered in ultra-short iridescent dresses, contrasted with ruched styles rendered in tangerine orange and psychedelic prints; hypnotic hues of cool blues and lavenders. Scuba is the supreme material, sculpted into body-con and A-line dresses with exposed lace, and tiny corsets.
Sickly sweet pinks and pastel yellows sit alongside fitted double-breasted jackets paired with voluminous trousers, probing the awkward period between childhood and adolescence. Toying with elements of rave culture, McCartney incorporated its most decisive symbol, the smiley – or a suggestion of it – by inscribing Smile or Keep on Smiling on knitwear pieces and tights, paired with sweeping cyberpunk raver pants.
For accessories, the vegan Falabella tote is reimagined in studded, shimmering editions, while the Elyse platform shoes are remixed with London-based artist Ed Curtis’ graffiti version of the Stella logo. A devote supporter of sustainability, it’s no surprise the collection is created with 71% eco-friendly materials, comprised of recycled polyester and elastane, organic cotton and linen, forest-friendly viscose, and traceable wool from regenerative farms.
by Sophia Ford-PalmerÂ