Ethical McCartney's stellar performance

Stella McCartney, centre, with Victoria Beckham and model Natalia Vodianova
12 April 2012

Stella McCartney's fashion label has shrugged off the recession with record profits boosted by her reputation as an "ethical" designer.

Profits at Stella McCartney Ltd, which is 50 per cent owned by Gucci, soared 70 per cent to £1.8million last year, its third consecutive year in the black.

The London-based designer, who will show her latest collection at Paris Fashion Week on Monday, also gave herself a 60 per cent pay rise to take home £1.5million, according to figures last year filed at Companies House.

Fashion insiders say former Beatle Paul McCartney's daughter - a life-long vegetarian who refuses to use leather and fur in her designs - is benefiting from a rise in demand for non-animal skin shoes and handbags.

Stella McCartney sporting ranges on display at London Fashion Week last month included clothes made out of organic cotton and recycled polyester and shoes built with recycled rubber and wood pulp insoles.

The profits continue McCartney's financial success story since she left French fashion house Chloe, where she had been made chief designer in 1997, and set up her label with Gucci in 2001. She first turned a profit in 2006, when some executives at Gucci were said to be losing patience with her failure to do so.

But consistently strong reviews for her new ranges and successful uses of the brand have helped the 38-year-old become one of the most bankable names in fashion.

In 2005 she teamed up with Adidas to produce a range of sportswear, and last month extended this to include clothes for triathlons and for cycling. She has also designed for clothes chain H&M.

McCartney - known as Stella Steel in the industry for her tough determination and ambition - has also built a wide following with names such as Kate Moss, Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow.

The Queen's granddaughter Zara Phillips often wears McCartney clothes and Twiggy's daughter Carly works for the label as a print designer.

Annual sales rose by almost a fifth to £13.5million. They received a boost from the addition of a lingerie range last year.

Online retailer Net-a-Porter, which stocks McCartney's label, said her signature boyfriend jackets - in which McCartney is often photographed herself - have been a best-sellers.

The figures include sales at the label's flagship store in Mayfair's Bruton Street, but not from shops in New York, Los Angeles or Paris.

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