London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Saturday, Aug 02, 2025

Stella McCartney’s Earliest, Raunchiest Designs Are Coming Back

Stella McCartney’s Earliest, Raunchiest Designs Are Coming Back

Bella Hadid will agree.

The late ‘90s, rolling into the early ‘00s, is the fashion era I love most. It’s like minimalism got tipsy and started experimenting with mega-watt maximalism. It’s a chic whisper of a rhinestone, rather than the glitter that blinded the early aughts. Those years are best embodied by Stella McCartney at Chloé, who helmed the label from 1997 until 2001. And for quite some time, I’ve been steadily collecting her designs from her tenure at the French house. My closet is filled with those epic fruit T-shirts: bananas shaped as creepy-freaky hands cupping boobs; a big pineapple in the center of the chest. I have a spicy, off-the-shoulder “69” top that creeps a little above my belly button whenever I’m out. I have a slew of the zodiac T-shirts: Taurus because that’s what I am...but also Sagittarius and Aquarius, which I’m not. I just really like the look of them. Whenever I wear any of these shirts, I feel like a walking wink. I’m just a girl who wants to have fun and look good while doing it.



And girls really do just want to have fun, which is why I’m not shocked that Bella Hadid stepped out in a Stella-era Chloé top yesterday. She was spotted strolling in a long-sleeve top with fuzzy letters spelling out “Chloé” trailing down the side. The model paired the top with a pair of low-slung denim jeans. While the shirt is simple, it signifies a shift in covetable vintage.



Gone are the days of uber-rare Jean Paul Gaultier mesh shirts or a Dior saddlebag as the ultimate conversation starter. We’ve seen so many of those sought-after, logomania-heavy designs that it feels tired. There’s not much to talk about anymore! The curiosity is gone thanks to feed ubiquity and fat price tags. Instead, people are looking for slept-on eras of fashion (of course, it still runs the risk of becoming oversaturated, as is the cycle). Hadid is one of them. Just a few weeks ago, she wore a Celine tank top from the uber-luxe, but very quiet, time when Michael Kors was at the helm.



McCartney’s moment at Chloé feels like what we need right now. Women want to look hot. Fresh. Belly-baring and shoulder-showing. McCartney injected that elevated raunch into the French house that had been long known for flouncy romance and femininity. McCartney produced a lot of see-through gold chain tank tops, skimpy halter tops, and pants so tight that you just want to peel them off and so low-slung you’d need laser hair removal. And as a bonus, it has a subtle sort of fashion cred. If you know, you know.

The want for Stella’s Chloé and that fun-bitch attitude that comes with it seems to be on the rise. Vintage dealer Olivia Haroutounian, who has a full Gen-Z following on TikTok, says, “People go crazy for the Stella pieces, especially the T-shirts.” Collin James Weber and Brandon Veloria Giordano of the downtown-beloved vintage store James Veloria agree. (Full disclosure: I bought a graphic island Stella-era Chloé tank top from them). “People are looking to her because it was so fun and sexy and the epitome of early 2000s rich bitch chic,” says Giordano.



During her time at Chloé, McCartney seemed to be having a ball of social life, which is reflected in those designs. She was in her early 20s, just barely out of Central Saint Martins, when she was photographed cavorting around London with the likes of Phoebe Philo (who later took over as creative director at Chloé), Kate Moss, and Sadie Frost. Her insouciance was evident in her Met Gala look from 1999, when she and Liv Tyler attended together in tank tops that she bought the night before and bedazzled to read “Rock Royalty.” (McCartney also wore her own Chloé trousers that showed a healthy amount of hip). She is sort of the girl that seems like a dream to hang out with.



In a profile in the 2000 July issue of Vogue, writer Jonathan van Meter describes her as follows: “Stella McCartney is not obnoxious; she’s just young and sometimes naughty, a girl who loves to make a little trouble, get a rise, stir things up. She smokes and drinks and sits with her legs apart. She wears ratty old Levi's with wickedly expensive heels. She can be both loudly, hilariously funny and girlishly whisper-quiet. And when something is said that she finds particularly thrilling, she yells, Austin Powers-like, “Yeeeah, baaby!” If I can’t hang out with this girl, I might as well wear the clothes.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Threatens Canada with Tariffs Over Palestinian State Recognition
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Trump Sues Murdoch in “Heavyweight Bout”: Lawsuit Over Alleged Epstein Letter Sets Stage for Courtroom Showdown
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
Trump Administration Finalizes Broad Tariff Increases on Global Trade Partners
J.K. Rowling Limits Public Engagements Citing Safety Fears
JD.com Launches €2.2 Billion Bid for German Electronics Retailer Ceconomy
Azerbaijan Proceeds with Plan to Legalise Casinos on Artificial Islands
Former Judge Charged After Drunk Driving Crash Kills Comedian in Brazil
Jeff Bezos hasn’t paid a dollar in taxes for decades. He makes billions and pays $0 in taxes, LEGALLY
China Increases Use of Exit Bans Amid Rising U.S. Tensions
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Procter & Gamble to Raise U.S. Prices to Offset One‑Billion‑Dollar Tariff Cost
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
Botswana Seeks Controlling Stake in De Beers as Anglo American Prepares Exit
Trump Administration Proposes Repeal of Obama‑Era Endangerment Finding, Dismantling Regulatory Basis for CO₂ Emissions Limits
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
A family has been arrested in the UK for displaying the British flag
Mel Gibson refuses to work with Robert De Niro, saying, "Keep that woke clown away from me."
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
The British propaganda channel BBC News lies again.
Deputy attorney general's second day of meeting with Ghislaine Maxwell has concluded
Controversial March in Switzerland Features Men Dressed in Nazi Uniforms
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
Thai Civilian Death Toll Rises to 12 in Cambodian Cross-Border Attacks
TSUNAMI: Trump Just Crossed the Rubicon—And There’s No Turning Back
Over 120 Criminal Cases Dismissed in Boston Amid Public Defender Shortage
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
×