Stella McCartney gives advice to budding designers

Stella McCartney has encouraged budding designers to be “honest” with themselves. The 46-yearold mogul - who launched her namesake brand, which is entirely cruelty free, in 2001 - has advised people looking to break into the fashion industry to be “passionate” and true to themselves when they are launching a label or a collection Speaking to Vogue.co.uk, the designer - who took home the Special Recognition Award for Innovation at The Fashion Awards 2017 - said: “Find what drives you, what you are passionate about, and be honest with yourself.” And the creative mastermind thinks when an entrepreneur is “lucky enough” to crack the business, they must try to be unique about their work and stand out in the crowd, as she believes there are not enough people who have their own style. She explained: “If you are lucky enough to break into the industry, try and enjoy it, but also try and do something different. I think the world is looking for a point of difference. There aren’t enough people in fashion approaching it in a different way.” Although Stella believes naivety in a person is a “really powerful gift”, she thinks there is a fine line between becoming fearful, which is “not a good thing”. She said: “I believe that naivety is a really powerful little gift-a powerful little gun in your pocket to take you to a certain stage. But fear... Fear is not a good thing.” And Calvin Klein’s chief creative officer, Raf Simons, shared the same view as Stella, as he believes people will only be successful if they “take risks and stand for change”. Raf - who was recognized as the Designer of the Year title at The Fashion Awards - said: “I think the only way to succeed in fashion is to just keep doing what you believe and try to not be too manipulated by the industry’s way of dealing with fashion.