Stella McCartney puts provocative twist on the 'open office' at Paris Fashion Week

PARIS (AP) — Stella McCartney ’s star-studded fall show was a bold statement on power, sensuality, and self-possession. Set inside the ‘Stella Corp’ offices in northern Paris, the runway blurred the lines between boardroom and nightlife, business and pleasure.

The Paris collection, provocatively titled “Laptop to Lapdance,” explored the modern working woman’s ability to shift seamlessly between roles, embracing both structure and seduction. It was a natural evolution of 1980s power dressing, when broad-shouldered tailoring became the armor of ambition.

Cameron Diaz, Jeff Koons, Olivia Colman, Kate Moss, Richard E. Grant, and French First Lady Brigitte Macron gathered around desks and buzzing PCs, sipping from water fountains. Possibly the starriest front row of the season, the guest list embodied the high-wattage allure of Paris Fashion Week.

“I’m so bowled over to be here to support Stella. I’ve been coming to Paris since I was 19,” Diaz told The Associated Press.

McCartney staged her show inside a fully realized corporate office space, complete with whirring PCs, water coolers, and notepads placed on every seat—a detail that made the setting feel lived-in rather than just conceptual. The show’s workplace theme was taken to the extreme with actual pole dancers performing inside the space, sending fashion insiders reaching for their cameras, and even had Moss turning snapping her head to the side to get a better look.

McCartney’s take on power dressing blended structure with sensuality. Double-breasted gray jackets, oversized and slightly slouched, were worn against bare skin, reworking suiting into something more subversive. Strong 1980s shoulders projected authority, while low-slung trousers introduced a relaxed, almost undone contrast. The interplay between sharp tailoring and fluid movement defined the collection, with sculptural draping and cinched waists disrupting the rigidity of oversized coats and menswear-inspired pieces.

McCartney leaned into the fantasy of the office as a space for transformation and play, where power is redefined and reclaimed. Glossy, PVC-like vegan stripper boots injected overt sex appeal, while accessories heightened the contrasts—studious glasses with exaggerated faux fur coats, chaps dripping with chains nodding to equestrian heritage and McCartney’s signature Falabella bag.

The collection was a study in contrasts—masculine and feminine, professional and personal, control and abandon. Models wove between desks, reinforcing McCartney’s belief that a woman shouldn’t have to choose between power and pleasure. The setting emphasized fluidity, how a wardrobe must shift throughout the day, adapting to different versions of the same woman.

McCartney’s commitment to sustainability remained central, with 96% of the collection crafted from conscious materials. Innovations like recycled silk, organic cotton, and forest-friendly viscose underscored her mission to prove that desirability and ethics are not mutually exclusive.

McCartney, who recently bought back the share LVMH held in her company, called this collection her first truly independent vision since college. “I was looking at what I do, knowing this is my first show ever alone, other than when I left college,” she said.

She highlighted the house’s emphasis on dressing for day-to-night. “The date-night thing is really important for my brand because, I think, I want to be women’s friends and I want them to rely on me,” she said. “I want them to wear that suit out to a club.”

The boots embodied the collection’s blend of confidence and playfulness. “Those boots - they grip onto a pole. I think they just do the work for you,” McCartney said, laughing. Asked about the fetishistic undertones, she shrugged. “You said it, not me! I mean, Jesus, it’s all legal as far as I last checked.”

Amid the playful energy, she acknowledged the industry’s demands. “We all work really, really, really, really hard,” she said. “Like, from when I started to now, it’s like, wow, this is a very different industry. And I wanted to kind of celebrate how hard everyone works too.”

Before the night was over, she encouraged guests to take a piece of the office set home. “I hope you all took the staplers and the mugs,” she joked. “We need those pens.”

Models wear creations as part of the Stella Mccartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Stella Mccartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Designer Stella McCartney, left, and Kate Moss backstage after the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Stella Mccartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Models wear creations as part of the Stella Mccartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Stella Mccartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Cameron Diaz attends the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

Kate Moss, left, and Cameron Diaz attend the Stella McCartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

A model wears a creation as part of the Stella Mccartney Fall/Winter 2025-2026 Womenswear collection presented in Paris, Wednesday, March 5, 2025. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)