Fashion designer Stella McCartney pays herself £2m while her eponymous brand loses £32m

Stella McCartney has paid herself £2.3m, despite heavy losses at her eponymous fashion brand, financial documents reveal.

The designer, whose creations are loved by celebrities including former US first lady Melania Trump, singer Beyoncé and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, has run at a loss for four consecutive years. Despite the exclusive clientele, the latest accounts reveal her company, Stella McCartney Ltd, made losses of £32.7m in 2021, bringing the four-year total to more than £100m.

But that didn’t stop Ms McCartney taking home a multi-million pound salary – taking in more than £10 million in the period. The report details how it wants to improve its ‘brand desirability’ to attract a ‘new generation of customers’.

The strategy to attract younger customers includes presenting the label as fashion with a conscience, capitalizing on the designer’s history of environmentalism and animal rights campaigning.

Despite the exclusive clientele, the latest reports reveal that the designer’s company, Stella McCartney Ltd, made losses of £32.7m in 2021, taking the four-year total to more than £100m

Ms McCartney, 51, appeared at the Cop26 2021 climate change summit where she complained that the fashion world was ‘getting away with murder’ and called on the industry to cut waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of its green drive, it recently launched its new Frayme bag, the world’s first made of vegan leather. The large tote versions cost £1,350 and the metal mini bag is on sale for just under £1,200.

Her brand also collaborated with Japanese pop artist Yoshitomo Nara in an attempt to stay relevant.

Pictured: Bella Hadid walks the catwalk during the Stella McCartney Spring/Summer 2023 womenswear show as part of Paris Fashion Week (File Photo)

Luxury fashion houses have been hit during the pandemic, but Ms McCartney’s apparent financial difficulties date back to at least 2018 – before the impact of quarantines and chaos in global supply chains that ravaged the industry.

The losses in the company’s final accounts are significant even in high fashion areas, where making money often seems like an afterthought.

They exceeded the company’s annual turnover of £32.5 million. In the report, the directors also warned that the outlook for the global economy was ‘highly uncertain’.

In November, The Mail on Sunday revealed that the brand, which is part-owned by French fashion giant LVMH, had raised almost £100m by issuing new shares. Ms McCartney, daughter of ex-Beatle Sir Paul and the late photographer and animal rights activist Linda, holds 51 per cent of the label through a company called Anin Star.

Stella McCartney Ltd has been contacted for comment.