For the third iteration of Stella Shared – Stella McCartney‘s genderless line – the British designer has brought some designer friends along for the ride: Ed Curtis in London, Maisie Broome (Myfawnwy) in New York City and Tom Tosseyn in Antwerp.

Inspired by a vibrant club-kid perspective, each designer has applied their unique aesthetic to iconic Stella archetypes – including the brand’s Falabella bag and Stan Smiths. For Curtis, this manifests as spray-painted Stella logos across furry knits and clashing psychedelic prints, while MyFawnwy brings her synonymous hand-marbled prints and smiling flower faces to the mix adorning silk sets with an optimistic outlook, and Belgian graphic artist Tom Tosseyn highlights his (and Stella’s) sustainable values, adding the slogan ‘Restoring the balance’ alongside lightning bolt and yin yang motifs. Expanding on this dialogue, each designer has curated their own shoot using collaborators to create highly personal works.

Marking the release, below we spoke to Ed Curtis about straddling the worlds of art and fashion and collaborating with Stella McCartney.

On collaborating with Stella McCartney:
“I actually think I was given so much control with this project! I was pleasantly surprised by how much input the Stella team wanted from me. The collaboration went far beyond creating artworks for clothes, we’ve created images and installations that go deeper into the Ed Curtis x Stella world. Working with Stella has given me the opportunity to create at a scale and pace that isn’t possible when I’m working on my own projects.

On his artistic process:
“I’m very curious about creative possibilities, it’s an endless quest that compels me to create a more vibrant and colourful landscape than I see today. All of my projects are improvised; ideas come often and at great speed. This chaotic and free-flowing process is integral to my practice – a day in the studio is full of visual surprises and the physical interaction fuels the creative process. The freedom I allow myself leads to the sense of rawness in my work, this lack of planning and structure is rare in fashion and is why other people find my work interesting.”

On hs influences:
“The idea of making something I haven’t seen before is the inspiration for all my artistic activities. My work is usually a reaction to the situation I’m in, The pandemic has led me to take more risks and to take time away from social media to focus on my art. I like to think my brain is full of experiences and memories that will eventually influence my work, I’m never short of new ideas.

The social, cultural and political events we grow up with are big influences on what we create and how we dress. These experiences seem to have made young people more conscious and caring about the impact we have on our planet by the decisions we make.”

On what made him want to be part of Stella Shared:
“The opportunity to show my work to a wider audience was a very exciting prospect. This project has given me the opportunity to creatively input into every aspect of the process, from the conception of an idea to the prints, to garments, styling, art direction, photography. It’s exactly the direction I see for myself.”

Shop Stella McCartney Shared 3 now.