Stella McCartney Creates a Flock of AI Birds for New Campaign That Warns of Extinction
LONDON — Stella McCartney’s summer campaign is for the birds.
It’s a call to protect dwindling avian life, and a warning that one day there may be a world where birds live only in fantasy.
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Inspired by Jonathan Franzen, a birdwatcher and author of the essay collection “The End of the End of the Earth,” the campaign carries the manifesto “Save What You Love.”
McCartney said it was Greta Gerwig who introduced her to Franzen’s book, and the idea of highlighting bird life in her spring 2025 collection took flight.
The designer said spring 2025 “is my most sustainable runway collection to date, crafted without any leather, fur or feathers. I hope that these beautifully crafted pieces not only inspire desire and fashion joy, but also to see from different perspectives, a bird’s eye view.”
The campaign, which launches on Wednesday, features actresses Eva Mendes and Myha’la; model Alex Consani, and singer-songwriter Raye. They appear alongside doves and fantastical avians created with AI.
Shot by Ethan James Green in New York, the campaign emphasizes the threat that birds are facing. Some 50 percent of avian species are in decline, while 3.4 billion birds are harmed or killed for feather down annually, according to the brand.
McCartney is sending other messages in this campaign, with all the models advocating for different causes.
Myha’la is an actor and advocate for representation in media, and is working to end racism and homelessness.
Consani, who was named Model of the Year at the Fashion Awards 2024, walked McCartney’s spring 2025 runway show and featured in the Stella McCartney x Adidas Rasant trainer campaign.
McCartney describes her as “a voice for inclusivity in fashion and support for trans children.”
Mendes is working to help women and children of Latin American heritage. She is also finding solutions to plastics used in consumer goods. To wit, her FloeWater products come in aluminum cans, which are more sustainable.
Raye, meanwhile, wants to right the “injustices of the music industry,” and has been highlighting the environmental crisis, and its outsized impact on women of color, through tracks such as “Environmental Anxiety” and “Mother Nature.”
The models are wearing clothing and sporting accessories made primarily from eco-friendly materials.
Innovations include the first handbag crafted from Hydefy, a fungi-based vegan alternative to leather; cloud knits spun from Peekaboo recycled nylon yarn, and clothing made from Kelsun, a trademarked, seaweed-based textile available commercially in luxury for the first time.
Wearable dove sculptures were created in collaboration with 886 Royal Mint, which makes gold and silver jewelry from repurposed electronic and medical waste.
The brand is also spotlighting the Ryder and Woven Ryder bag styles, which have a curved shape similar to a horse’s back. McCartney is a lifelong horse lover, using the names of different breeds throughout her collections.
The campaign is McCartney’s first public move after buying back the minority stake in her fashion brand held by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
As reported, the company is now wholly in the hands of the designer, although she will continue to work with LVMH and has the new title of global ambassador on sustainability.
Last month, LVMH said McCartney was taking back the stake “after more than five years of fruitful collaboration. This new chapter for Stella McCartney reflects her desire to write a new page in her story independently, after working closely with the group to strengthen the fundamentals and governance of her house.”
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