Cate Blanchett’s Plant-Based Dress Is Sure to Ruffle Feathers

Birds of a feather stick together, so Cate Blanchett (queen of the ecologically-minded rewear) dressing in Stella McCartney (a pioneer of sustainability in luxury) makes perfect sense. While it may look like McCarney dressed Blanchett in actual bird feathers at the Bambi Awards in Munich today, that wasn’t the case. The statement-making lilac dress was actually made of an innovative plant-based fabric.

Blanchett’s eccentric look comes from Stella McCartney’s spring 2026 runway show. While simple in design with a structured bodice and a sheer skirt, the dress’s fabrication was anything but. The dress was festooned with free-flowing fringe, the world’s first ethical alternative to feathers from the London-based Fevvers.

The fashion statement was a fitting one. Blanchett was honored at the event for her humanitarian and environmental commitments and has long championed not only sustainable dressing—but upcycled and innovative materials—on the most grandest of stages. Remember that Hodakova top made from spoons?

While Fevver’s innovation is still a work in progress per its website, McCartney seems excited by the potential of doing away with the use of bird feathers in fashion. The fabric’s exact composition is unknown to preserve its integrity, but it is described as being made out of naturally dyed plant-based fibers.

“It’s weird to me that feathers being plucked from a bird are seen as delicate in fashion,” the designer said backstage at Paris Fashion Week. “I’m trying to show that you can still have the theatre of fashion without the animal compromise.”

While many top luxury houses have curbed their use of leather and fur in recent years, they’ve been slower to decrease their reliance on feathers. But McCartney, a leader in the industry’s eco movement, appears to have a solution. The brand has been fur-free since its launch in 2001 and has championed other advancements, such as biodegradable shoes and leather alternatives.

And if anyone—at least, aside from McCartney—can convince the fashion world to go feather-free, it’s Blanchett.