Sahara Mara / 19 May 2025 / Categories: People, Creative, Fashion Designers

Stella McCartney Loses £25 million pounds and closes Bond St Mayfair London Flagship Store

The Evening Standard asks can she turn things around

I follow a guy @asht_talks on Instagram who talks about, business, finance and geo politics around the globe and recently saw one of his films talking about Mayfair, New Bond St in particular being a ghost town and luxury retailers at a loss what to do as the government has removed the tax incentives for visitors. Anyone shopping in the past could claim their VAT 20% back on purchases at Heathrow airport before returning home. I’ve done it myself when I lived in China.

Now I read Stella McCartney is closing her London flagship store amidst massive losses £25M to be precise 9 years before her lease expires. I’d imagine at a significant penalty for breaking her lease terms.

What is happening to British fashion giant, she’s the daughter of a Beatle and American vegan activist Linda McCartney Nee Eastman with a fortune behind her.

The standard writer fashion editor Joe Bromley asks if she can turn things around, personally as a lover of her sneakers, for their animal friendly cruelty free status I am not so sure.

I still pick up an Evening Standard every day for the tube ride home.

I like to support British and whilst I’ve never really liked her clothes, weird, over sized shapes, bright colours and ethnic patterns, at one point backlash around using African heritage prints without recognition or remuneration to the people trying to reclaim their heritage, perhaps the downfall. Cultural appropriation was suggested when she sent models down the runway in the Ankara print popular in West Africa especially Nigeria.

As the Stella McCartney cuts don’t suit very many people, wide leg trousers and manly jackets, strange dresses, I have supported the brand in the running shoe department and have blown the budget on four different pairs of Stella McCartney trainers, one pair from her store in Bond Street, one pair from Selfridges and two collaborations with adidas.

I also confess to shopping her collaboration with fast fashion brand H&M, where the oversized theme was toned down and I bought a dinner jacket which I still have and wear and a dinner shirt, I wore a lot that eventually lost it’s bright white appeal.

I don’t know whether to be worried London’s premier shopping area is going down the pan and Stella McCartney is just kicking off the mass exodus as the all wealth managers and high net worth individuals look for better terms for their millions, billions and trillions overseas.

I don’t know what prime shopping real estate in the heart of Mayfair costs. Clearly the shoppers have disappeared.

Only a couple of years ago we saw another British fashion designer close her London flagship store on Dover St, amidst record reported losses and cash injections from husband David. The VB flagship store, located within a gorgeous three-story Georgian townhouse, was a significant part of the Victoria Beckham brand's presence in London.

I understand fashion designers must stay true to their aesthetic and not yield to the demands of an ever changing fashion audience. However I think brands now have to think about where their social capital actually resides and get to know their customers for real if they are to survive.

We the customers just don’t have the disposable income we once had for frivolous fashion purchases when we’ve no longer got much of a social life; things to dress up for and our mortgages, especially in the capital have left us with little spare spending moola.