Stella McCartney has brought her unmistakable design codes to Bugaboo. Here, we take a closer look at the collaboration
There is a pony at the heart of Stella McCartney’s latest collaboration. Actually, there are two.
The first is Falabella, McCartney’s childhood pony breed and the namesake of the designer’s now-iconic handbag. The second appears alongside Poppy Delevingne in the campaign for Bugaboo x Stella McCartney, a limited-edition collection that sees two of Bugaboo’s best-known strollers given a distinctly McCartney makeover. It is an unexpectedly neat collision of worlds: fashion, family and a little dose of equestriana, all wrapped around something parents use every single day.
Launching globally today, the collection is the first chapter in a new multi-year partnership between Bugaboo and Stella McCartney – and Bugaboo’s first major design collaboration since its previous link-ups with Missoni, Diesel and Kith. The Bugaboo x Stella McCartney collaboration reflects a natural meeting of minds, of two brands united by a devotion to innovation, responsible design, and making thoughtfully crafted products that last. True to Bugaboo's design codes, performance and practicality are, of course, key to the special-edition collection, which sees responsible materials and enduring style come together. With Stella McCartney's values meeting Bugaboo's technical prowess, the result is a shared ambition to help shape a better future for the next generation – which feels particularly relevant in today's parenting space.
This debut centres on three Bugaboo strollers – the Fox 5 Renew, the Butterfly 2, and the Dragonfly Plus – accompanied by a capsule of coordinating accessories. The first, Bugaboo’s all-terrain stroller, receives the full Stella treatment, while the travel-friendly Butterfly 2 translates the same codes into a more compact proposition. Last but not least, the Dragonfly Plus is made for fast-paced city life, with its compact all-in-one folding showcasing Bugaboo's innovative design. A footmuff and tote bag complete the Bugaboo x Stella McCartney offering, alongside matching mittens for adults and toddlers – a new addition to Bugaboo’s accessories range.
Photo: Courtesy of Bugaboo
Vogue Scandinavia got a closer look at the collaboration at an intimate London preview in early September, where McCartney’s fashion signatures were, naturally, found across the collection. Most recognisable is the influence of the Falabella. First introduced by McCartney as an alternative to the traditional leather luxury handbag, its chain detailing has become one of the house’s most enduring visual codes. Here, that chain finds its way onto the stroller canopy, accompanied by vintage-inspired medallions and Stella McCartney branding. Metallic hardware counters the softer, leather-alternative materials, bringing a suitably designer-minded level of detailing to the everyday business of getting from A to B with a baby.
That meeting of aesthetics and material innovation is, of course, familiar territory for McCartney. The designer has spent more than two decades challenging some of luxury fashion’s most entrenched material conventions, building a house that eschews leather, fur, feathers and hides while continually experimenting with alternatives. As a leading progressive luxury brand, Stella McCartney designs are always cruelty-free and guided by a commitment to have a positive impact on the planet. From pioneering cutting-edge materials, to a sustainability vision rooted in values of making every action count and inspiring trust, Stella McCartney has always been at the forefront of creating beautiful products with the least possible impact on our planet. The same thinking runs through the Bugaboo collection: fabrics are made from recycled polyester sourced from plastic bottles and dyed using a process that requires no water, while further details incorporate bio-based materials and recycled aluminium.
Photo: Courtesy of Bugaboo
“As a mother, I want what I design to reflect the world I want to help build,” McCartney says. “Collaborating with Bugaboo felt like a natural choice because it’s a brand that shares our commitment to innovation and responsibility.” More than that, however, she sees the collection as an opportunity to inject some personality into a category traditionally governed by practicality. “This collection is for all mothers who want to let their own personality and sense of playfulness shine through in parenthood.”
It’s an idea neatly embodied by the woman chosen to front the campaign. Model, actress, entrepreneur and new mother Poppy Delevingne appears with the collection in the English countryside, in images that deliberately resist presenting motherhood as an entirely separate identity from the woman who came before it. Instead, Delevingne feeds a pony, lounges on the grass and moves through the landscape with baby – and Bugaboo – in tow.
Photo: Courtesy of Bugaboo
“Motherhood has changed the way I see the world,” Delevingne says. “You suddenly realise how important it is to surround your children with things that are thoughtfully made and filled with joy.” For her, the appeal of the collaboration lies in elevating the otherwise mundane paraphernalia of new parenthood. “That’s what I love about this collaboration – it makes those everyday moments with your little one feel even more special.”
The reality of new parenthood is that you suddenly acquire an extraordinary quantity of stuff. Much of it is selected according to an entirely new hierarchy of concerns: Does it fold? Will it fit through the door? Can it survive rain, crumbs and whatever else the day throws at it? Yet these objects also become some of the most visible things we own. A stroller, perhaps more than almost anything else purchased for a baby, accompanies its owner everywhere.
Bugaboo and McCartney’s answer is not to choose between function and fashion, but to treat the two as mutually compatible. Bugaboo brings more than 25 years of stroller engineering and a focus on durability, while McCartney brings the visual language of a luxury fashion house – right down to a chain normally found swinging from the shoulder of a Falabella bag. And with the collaboration conceived as a long-term partnership rather than a single product drop, this first collection feels less like a fashion cameo and more like the beginning of a new design chapter for both brands. In fact, just like the shared spirit behind this unique partnership, the collaboration is not only beautiful and sustainable, but is designed with the future in mind.
The Bugaboo x Stella McCartney collection launches globally today. Shop the collection below.
