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As far as designer-musician collaborations go, you can’t convince me that anything will top Stella McCartney x The Beatles. Never! The link-up would be big news any day, but tomorrow’s launch has an extra-special hook: the debut of Peter Jackson’s highly-anticipated The Beatles: Get Back documentary, airing on Disney+ on Thanksgiving Day.
Jackson’s three-part film chronicles the making of the band’s final album, Let It Be, with cuts from over 60 hours of never-before-seen footage and unheard recordings. Beyond the rare glimpses of the band at work—writing songs, rehearsing, goofing around—and their final live performance on the Apple Corps roof (included in its 40-minute entirety for the first time), Get Back captures the end of the ’60s, the eventual end of The Beatles, and the beginning of everything that came next for Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr.
For the occasion, Stella developed a limited collection using a mix of iconic and less-familiar Beatles images and graphics. “The film [captured] such a special, precious moment— it’s epic,” Stella said on a call from Los Angeles, where she’s hosting a launch party tonight. “I wanted the collection to feel like a real moment too, and [highlight] the emotional family link I have. I think it goes a step beyond a ‘normal’ collaboration in that respect.”
Stella pulled elements and iconography from Let It Be and other albums, including graphics that haven’t been used in clothing before. A T-shirt and jacquard knit feature The Fool, the trippy, unused landscape created for Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band; a regenerated bomber (inspired by one of her dad’s jackets) features large-scale embroidery of the Fab Four on the back; and several black-and-white knits merge the band’s classic logo with lesser-known alternate fonts. “These are collectibles,” she says. “It’s so important to create pieces that people are going to cherish and have an emotional connection with. That bomber is a standout piece—anyone can wear it, you can share it with your friends and family, and you’re always going to respect it.”
Every piece is unisex and will be available exclusively in Stella McCartney stores and on Net-a-Porter from tomorrow, November 19th; most importantly, they’re all produced to the same rigorous, sustainable standards as her main line. It’s a departure from what we typically think of as “band merch,” both in quality and design. “A lot of people will just take an album and shove it on a T-shirt, and it sells itself because of the band,” Stella says. “I’m always going to push the concept further, because I have such a desire to deliver—not just for my dad, but for Olivia and [Dhani] Harrison and Sean [Ono Lennon] and everyone in the Beatles family. There’s a boldness to what we created, and [a sense of] being really proud to love The Beatles and to love music.”
And because I had to ask: Her favorite Let It Be song? “Get Back,” no question. “‘Get Back’ was a true collaboration, and in the documentary, you see how they riff on it and make it a better song in the process. What it signified about getting back to their roots, to their friendships, and evolving—you experience that evolution in the film.”
Shop the collection below.
