Fashion designer Stella McCartney pays herself £2 million as her eponymous label loses £32 million

Stella McCartney has paid herself £2.3m, despite suffering heavy losses at her eponymous fashion label, financial documents reveal.

The designer, whose creations are favored by celebrities including former US first lady Melania Trump, singer Beyoncé and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, has been at a loss for four straight years. Despite the exclusive clientele, the latest accounts reveal his firm, Stella McCartney Ltd, racked up losses of £32.7m in 2021, bringing the total over four years to more than £100m. .

But that didn’t stop Ms McCartney from drawing a multi-million dollar salary, taking in more than £10m in that period. The report details how she wants to improve her ‘brand convenience’ to attract a ‘new generation of customers’.

The strategy to appeal to younger shoppers includes presenting the label as fashion with a conscience, capitalizing on the designer’s history of environmental and animal rights advocacy.

Despite the exclusive clientele, the latest accounts reveal the designer’s firm, Stella McCartney Ltd, racked up losses of £32.7m in 2021, bringing the total over four years to more than £100m. .

Ms McCartney, 51, appeared at the Cop26 climate change summit in 2021, where she complained that the fashion world had “got away with it” and called on the industry to reduce waste and emissions. of greenhouse gases.

As part of her green push, she recently launched her new Frayme bag, the first in the world made from vegan leather. Large bag versions are £1,350 and a metallic mini bag is on sale for just under £1,200.

His brand has also collaborated with Japanese pop artist Yoshitomo Nara in an attempt to keep up.

Pictured: Bella Hadid walks the runway during the Stella McCartney Womenswear Spring/Summer 2023 show as part of Paris Fashion Week (file photo)

Luxury fashion houses have been hit during the pandemic, but Ms McCartney’s apparent financial woes date back to at least 2018, before the impact of lockdowns and chaos in global supply chains that have devastated the industry. .

Losses on the company’s latest accounts are significant even in the realm of high fashion, where making money often seems like an afterthought.

They exceeded the company’s annual turnover, by £32.5 million. In the report, the directors also warned that the outlook for the global economy was “highly uncertain.”

In November, The Mail on Sunday revealed that the brand, partly owned by French fashion giant LVMH, raised almost £100m by issuing new shares. McCartney, the daughter of former Beatle Sir Paul and the late photographer and animal rights activist Linda, owns 51 percent of the label through a company called Anin Star.

Stella McCartney Ltd was contacted for comment.