Paris Fashion Week Summer 2026 was the scene of a silent but very powerful revolution. In the midst of ethereal looks, tailored shirts and spectacular trench coats, Stella McCartney has unveiled a technology that could change the relationship between fashion and the environment: it is called PURE.TECH, and it is a fabric capable of absorbing and neutralizing air pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) and carbon dioxide (CO₂). But above all, it has been applied to one of the most iconic and controversial garments in the industry: denim.
Sustainable denim according to Stella McCartney
For decades, denim has been a symbol of style, but also of waste. Producing a single pair of jeans requires up to 10,000 liters of water and the textile industry is responsible for 20% of wastewater globally, with indigo dyes among the main culprits. Additionally, each pair of jeans emits over 33kg of CO₂ over its life cycle.
With PURE.TECH, Stella McCartney offers denim that completely overturns this paradigm. The fabric is treated with mineral coatings that capture air pollutants and transform them into harmless compounds through catalysis and photocatalysis. Tests show that 1 square meter of this material can neutralize, in one year, the equivalent of NOₓ emitted by 1,500 cars. And the surprising thing is that the polluting substances remain bound to the fabric even after washing, thus avoiding re-entering the water or air cycle.
This is not a vague promise: the denim has been certified according to international standards ISO, CE, LEED and BREEAM, with tests conducted by the CARTIF Foundation and the University of Alicante. Environmental performance is real, measurable, and already used in other projects, such as the “Sustainable Market” pavilion presented by McCartney at COP28 in 2023.
PURE.TECH and FEVVERS
Stella McCartney’s Summer 2026 collection introduced two revolutionary materials: FEVVERS, a vegan alternative to feathers, and PURE.TECH, the anti-pollution fabric. The latter, conceived by Italian Aldo Sollazzo and developed in Barcelona, transforms garments into portable air purifiers.
A small 30 gram sample of PURE.TECH was able to eliminate 2,245 ppm of CO₂ in less than 10 hours, removing over 20% of NOₓ under ISO testing conditions. Furthermore, denim requires up to 30% less water during production and does not generate microplastics, being biodegradable at the end of its life cycle.
During the show, the fabric was used in patchwork jeans, deconstructed jackets and oversized silhouettes, all designed to clear the air as they are worn. The result was a perfect marriage between couture fashion and environmental activism.
At an industrial level, the numbers are impressive. If just 1% of global jeans production, or around 20 million pairs per year, were made with PURE.TECH denim, over 50,000 tonnes of NOₓ could be eliminated from city air every year.
For companies, it means reductions in Scope 3 emissions, less regulatory pressure and concrete benefits in ESG terms. Furthermore, 75% of Gen Z consumers say that sustainability influences their purchasing decisions: adopting technologies like PURE.TECH is no longer just a question of ethics, but also of brand strategy.
Not just technology: between satin and sequins, fashion remains at the center
Alongside innovation, the collection has maintained a sophisticated and desirable aesthetic. Powder pink, lavender and sky blue alternated with khaki and anthracite grey, while the tailoring became bold, with sculptural shoulders, crinoline skirts and architectural draping. There was no shortage of classics: the camel trench coat, the striped suit, the oversized white shirt.
And then the cult bags like the Falabella, reinvented in a sustainable way, and the evening dresses hand-embroidered in the London workshop. An elegant palette, ethical materials and a coherent narrative: the Stella McCartney 2026 woman is powerful, conscious and modern.
Fashion is responsible for up to 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, air pollution causes more than 7 million premature deaths every year. With PURE.TECH, Stella McCartney proposes a concrete solution, transforming the simple gesture of getting dressed into an act of micro-activism.
And perhaps this is precisely the future of luxury: not ostentation, but positive impact. In a world where invisible innovation is worth more than a logo, sustainable technology becomes the new status symbol.
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