Stella McCartney: Who?

Stella McCartney has insisted loud and long that her success in the world of fashion is nothing to do with her name.


But rival designer Jeff Banks voiced the opinion of many yesterday when he claimed she would have got nowhere without being the daughter of Sir Paul.

'Stella's clothes are very amateurish, but then because of who her old man is, it doesn't seem to matter,' said Banks, who has twice been named British Designer of the Year and presented the BBC's The Clothes Show.

'She is successful anyway, not necessarily because of her aptitude as a designer. She's still very young and has been lucky enough to land a few plum jobs, but is she one of Britain's great designers?'

Banks, who designs for Sainsbury's and the High Street fashion shop Warehouse, added: 'Had it not been for having a very rich father, would she be getting all this praise? I very much doubt it.'

Miss McCartney, 31, who recently married magazine publisher Alasdhair Willis, has been consistently accused of trading on her father's name ever since she was a student at St Martin's College of Art and Design in London.

Rumours of nepotism began in earnest after her graduate fashion show in 1995, for which she persuaded family friends

Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell to model. Critics said she would never have subsequently landed a job at the French fashion house Chloe if it were not for her famous surname.

At the time, her predecessor at Chloe, Karl Lagerfeld, remarked: 'I think they should have taken a big name. They did - but in music, not fashion.'

It seems, however, that Miss McCartney might no longer be able to count on such strong family support.

Sir Paul failed to attend the opening of her first Los Angeles boutique on Sunday night, even though he and his pregnant wife Heather had just paid a visit to the city. They flew out 24 hours before the opening after attending a memorial concert for George Harrison.

When asked if her family would be attending Miss McCartney snapped: 'Well, what do you think? It doesn't look like it does it?'

Wearing a plunging black silk top and matching cropped trousers and jacket of her own design, she added: 'This shop is a dream come true. Los Angeles is

such a buzzing, young, trendy place and it seemed like the next obvious step. I can't tell you why I have been a success but maybe I just got lucky.'

Celebrities who did attend the party included Pamela Anderson, Cate Blanchett, Demi Moore and her toyboy Ashton Kutcher.

Back in Britain, a friend of Stella said last night: 'All this talk of nepotism is really not fair. She has worked really hard for the past eight years and her clothes have been worn by some of the most beautiful women in the world.

'Madonna even asked her to design her wedding dress when she married Guy Ritchie.

'Her success should speak for itself - I doubt a fashion house as prestigious as Gucci would have taken her on board if she was anything but an excellent designer.'

Banks delivered his attack on Miss McCartney in an interview on the fashion world with a Welsh newspaper.

Welsh-born Banks went on to criticise another controversial designer, Alexander McQueen.

He said: 'His things are a bit like the Emperor's Clothes. In my opinion, they are totally unwearable and don't sell. They are fantasy clothes which are not there to be sold.'

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