Watch Stella McCartney and Shie Lyu deftly reinterpret each other's work

When Shanghai and Chengdu couturier Shie Lyu received an email inviting her to participate in a Vogue sponsored event with Stella McCartney, she The astonishment was almost unbelievable. “I thought this email was spam!” Lyu started her own brand in 2020.

“Everything is closed, There’s no transportation and I can only use what I have,” she said. “So I incorporated a lot of leftover acrylic, rubber and Swarovski crystals from my degree studies.” Lyu’s conscious approach may be more of an inevitability than a spirit, but her ecological awareness has been evolving. To bring an “ultra-feminine” and eveningwear-inspired element to McCartney’s dress fabrics, she used her signature zero-waste tailoring technique to create the dress’s tulle train, which is framed by handcrafted squares and presented above The origami effect looks like a butterfly or a fluted seashell for days. “Every inch of fabric is used,” Lyu said.

Both McCartney and Lyu’s work has a certain unfinished quality, with the former favoring “rough-edged” designs with frayed fabric and unfinished hems, and Lyu from McCartney Inspired by the golden chain top called the “female corset”, it combines buckle and metal ring lacing, and adds cross machine stitching and embroidery to depict the female figure, like an active performance tailor. of chalk.

The fact that their collaboration is a female-led creative exchange only adds to the fun. “Very few women lead brands, let alone founders,” McCartney laments. “But most of our team are women.”

“It’s unbelievable,” added Lyu, who hopes to meet McCartney face-to-face — and Not by thread and fabric – when the latter visits China later this year. “I really want to try this trench coat on!”

“I promise to put it in my hand luggage myself,” McCartney said with a laugh.

Vogue Associate Director of Creative Development: Alexandra Gurvitch
Fashion Senior Producer: Jordin Rocchi

Senior Editor: Evan Allan

London Crew

Director: Luke Spencer
Producer: Benjamin Whitley
Director of Photography: Arthur Loveday