Stella McCartney debuts plant-based feathers at Paris Fashion Week

France – At Paris Fashion Week, Stella McCartney unveiled a striking alternative to bird feathers: plant-based Fevvers. The spring/summer 2026 collection, titled Come Together, featured three pastel dresses adorned with the innovative material, developed in partnership with UK start-up Fevvers and Indian textile house Chanakya International. 

‘I realised not that long ago that feathers were a whole other barbaric part of the industry,’ McCartney said. Her mission to eliminate animal cruelty from fashion now extends beyond leather and fur to feathers, a material she says causes the deaths of billions of birds annually. 

Feathers, often sourced from ostriches, ducks and peacocks, face growing backlash from animal rights groups due to inhumane farming and harvesting practices. While faux feathers offer a cruelty-free option, they’re usually plastic-based and environmentally harmful.

Fevvers, by contrast, is natural, vegan and biodegradable. ‘Each feather has a uniqueness, like a fingerprint,’ said co-founder James West. ‘This material passes the second-glance test, you assume it’s real.’ 

Explore our macrotrend report Biofabricated Futures which analyses the breakthrough use of biology to engineer sustainable materials and its potential to transform markets and drive future growth.