It only makes sense that the campaign for Stella McCartney’s Fall 2023 collection, with its “Horse Power” theme and horses galloping alongside the models on the runway, stars known horse girl Kendall Jenner. It’s the model/entrepreneur’s first time working with the British fashion designer and staunch animal advocate.
McCartney said she chose Jenner because they both share a love for horses: The model has been riding since she was 10 years old and has her own ranch. McCartney says she “knew this season’s Stella girl had to love horses as much as I do,” she said, in a statement. “Kendall has been riding since she was a kid, just like me, and has her own ranch; You can see how at ease she is around these sensitive creatures, and with them.”
As Fashionista reports, the campaign was photographed by Harley Weir in southern France’s mystic Camargue Salt Flats, the ad spot celebrates the “Horse Power” collection, which was shown on the runway during Paris Fashion Week at the Manège de l’École Militaire, France’s oldest riding school. “The concept of the winter collection was really about equestrianism, about horses, about the relationship of trust between human and animal, how horses are so trusting,” McCartney said.
Jenner appears in various stages of dress (and undress), posing alongside director (and horse whisperer) Jean-Francois Pignon’s rescuedwhite horses, who raises and trains them without any physical contact. In one nighttime shot at Camargue’s famous salt pans, Jenner lies naked on a white horse, wearing only thigh boots and a matching Falabella handbag. In another, she wears a tailored red outfit while surrounded by moving horses.
“We’ve been riding forever as a McCartney family. My mother Linda once said, ‘I would travel only by horse, if I had the choice,’ and I feel exactly the same. I have loved horses since before I can remember,” McCartney said in an interview with WWD.
“To me, they represent the rich, rare and respectful relationships that humans can have with animals — with a complete understanding and affection that transcends language. I find being on my horse so healing and it inspires me more to keep fighting to protect our fellow creatures in everything I do,” she added.
Jenner revealed that while growing up, she bonded with a horse named Ladybug and that she will “always have a special place for her in my heart. She taught me so much at such a young age.” The model added, “Dylandra, one of my horses, has also had a profound effect on me, she and I have a marked trust,” she added.
McCartney’s brand is most famous for its use of sustainable and ethical materials and said this ready-to-wear collection is her “most responsible winter offering to date” with 92 percent conscious materials.
—
Photo Credit: Andrea Raffin / Shutterstock.com