Stella McCartney previews Pre-Fall 2014 collection

This Monday, January 13, Stella McCartney held a pre-collection party for Pre-Fall 2014 for a host of her celebrity friends.

The party was held at Harold Pratt House, in Park Avenue, New York. The interior of the Upper East Side mansion was designed and decorated in a way that beautifully reflected and showed off the new collection. The vibe was warm and subdued, but sweet, with pastel features and dark wood fittings abundant. A purple hued light shone on the display tables, which were laden with pieces from the collection, flowers, cakes in the shapes of this season's handbags and the letters S-T-E-L-L-A made from various materials (including chocolate) and emblazoned on the spines of hardback books. A hopscotch was taped to the floor and miniature cars were laid around for the attendees to have some fun with.

Said attendees included the likes of Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin, Blythe Danner, Liv Tyler, Patti Smith and a plethora of models and It-Girls.

The collection was inspired by Stella's childhood in general and her older half-sister Heather in particular. Heather was quite into the London punk scene when the McCartneys moved her to the countryside, away from it all. Stella told WWD that this translated to her "taking quite punky, black and white edgy stuff and softening it" for the new collection.

The result is a collection of pretty dresses, oversized coats, cozy polo-neck jumpers and tapered trousers. Large polka dots, bold houndstooth and line drawings of a woman's face are recurring patterns, and are coloured in dark browns, black, burnt orange, cream and electric blue. Masculine shapes and colours contrast with feminine patterns and fabrics to create a sophisticated look that is both effortlessly cool and girly.

Stella is dedicated to creating sustainable fashion. Her clothes are always as eco-friendly and vegan-friendly as she can make them. This may limit her in terms of fabric choices and suppliers, but despite this, Stella always creates beautiful, fashion-forward items to rival other top designers who may not be so eco-conscious.