Kendall Jenner makes major impact as face of Stella McCartney winter campaign

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 22, 2023

It’s an often perplexing fact that the more famous the face fronting an ad campaign, the less adventurous that campaign is, with the celeb’s mere presence being enough to sell a collection. But nobody could accuse Stella McCartney of playing it safe with her Kendall Jenner-fronted winter 23 imagery.

Shot by Harley Weir in the Camargue Salt Flats of France, the model and equestrian is “captured amongst the region’s famed white ponies – provided by horse whisperer and rescuer Jean-Francois Pignon, a connective thread to the collection’s runway presentation”.

The collection’s ‘Horse Power’ theme — seen originally during Paris Fashion Week at the Manège de L’École Militaire — is key to the campaign vision. “It story-tells the transformational connections between humans and horses – through the lenses of Stella’s personal relationships and family, art and history, and into the modern day”.

McCartney said of this: “I knew this season’s Stella girl had to love horses as much as I do. Kendall has been riding since she was a kid, just like me, and has her own ranch; you can see how at ease she is around these sensitive creatures, and them with her. Capturing this connection brings Horse Power to life, both through the fashion and the vision.”

The company said that the “harmony between Jenner and Pignon’s ponies reflects the collection’s equestrian essence”. That equestrian edge includes rope details inspired by bridle reins, quilting reinterpreting horse blankets and Appaloosa jacquards referencing an American breed McCartney's family raised. And we’re told that “the unique and healing bonds between humans and horses will be further explored in a second phase of the campaign this autumn”.

The collection itself features products such as vegan crocodile-effect Frayme and S-Wave bags made from apple waste, riding boots made using grape waste, and bags made from the new Mirum leather alternative that uses fungi mycelium. And with the ready-to-wear pieces using 92% conscious materials, it’s Stella McCartney’s "most responsible winter offering to date”.