Stella McCartney Finally Dives into Beatlemania

Stella McCartney has joined The Beatles…in her own way. The English fashion designer, and daughter to the legendary band’s singer-songwriter Paul McCartney, has launched “All Together Now,” a capsule collection inspired by Yellow Submarine, her father’s 1968 musical film that celebrated its 50th anniversary last year. It marks the first time that the designer has outwardly used the Beatles’s name to market her wares, having stayed clear of tie-ins to her famous father for years.

“All Together Now” riffs off the psychedelic aspects of the 1968 film, taking her signature Chesterfield coats, vibrant knits, and slick dresses, and adding band patches, trippy color combinations, and exaggerated prints of dancing figures. Since founding her eponymous label in 2001, McCartney has been lauded for designing streamlined collections for men, women, and children with a focus on sustainability—before it became one of the industry’s biggest trends.

She made it a point to build a business grounded in being ethically and environmentally responsible, showing others how luxury labels could thrive utilizing this practice. Indeed, this stance—and the way she crafts pieces with attitude, emphasizing tailoring and saturated hues—has left an indelible imprint on the way people dress. She has, in this regard, surpassed the shadow cast by her father, distinguishing herself in her own right.

That said, her name will always be linked to the rock ‘n’ roll hall of famer. And with the re-release of the psychedelic movie last year—and with the political climate being what it is—McCartney saw that now was the right time to partake in Beatlemania. “I recently went to a screening with family and friends for the digital relaunch of Yellow Submarine,” she says. “I hadn’t seen it since I was young, and, honestly, it blew my mind. It affected me in a way I just wasn’t expecting. Especially this idea of connecting people, and bringing people together—politically, this message has never been more relevant.”

To that end, the collection imbues inclusivity, honoring freedom of expression in a world that suppresses it. The political inclinations may not be apparent at first glance, but a dive into what Yellow Submarine represents shows how the hippie counterculture, and how it fought against oppression in the 1960s, mirrors what’s happening today.

“It’s shockingly modern what those four young guys did,” she says. “The beauty of the lyrics blows me away. I found that I was removing myself from the fact that it was family, and just finding myself as a fashion designer watching a piece of material that was massively and emotionally effective to me. We pulled apart the music, the lyrics, the psychedelia, and the comedy, and turned them into something new.”

The “All Together Now” collection starts at $595, and is available at select stores and Stellamccartney.com.