STELLA MCCARTNEY JUST GAVE KYLIE JENNER HER MOST CINEMATIC ROLE YET.
Stella McCartney enlisted Gia Coppola to direct Kylie Jenner in a new short film called Wild Horses. There’s an ocean, a horse, and a surprisingly beautiful story behind all of it.
Wild Horses, a new short film conceived by Stella McCartney, directed by Gia Coppola, and starring Kylie Jenner for the designer’s Winter 2026 campaign is here.
And I have to say, I’m into it.
Not just because it’s beautiful. Kylie has been photographed beautifully approximately nine million times.
But because something about this feels different.
FIRST OF ALL, GIA COPPOLA???
Now this is where you get my attention.
Gia Coppola has a way of making beautiful things feel slightly lonely. Her films are intimate, atmospheric, and often more interested in what somebody isn’t saying than what they are.
Which makes Kylie an interesting subject.
We’re so used to seeing her in highly controlled environments. Perfect lighting. Perfect hair. A camera that knows exactly where to find her.
And here she is, immersed in water alongside a horse.
There’s still glamour, obviously.
It’s Kylie Jenner.
But the imagery feels quieter. Less concerned with convincing us she’s beautiful and more interested in placing her somewhere we don’t usually expect to find her.
I appreciate that.
Sometimes the most interesting thing you can do with someone we’ve seen a thousand times is change absolutely everything around them.
OKAY, BUT WHY THE HORSE?
This isn’t Stella McCartney randomly deciding that horses would look fabulous in a campaign.
Although, visually, she’s not wrong.
Horses have been part of McCartney’s life since childhood, and they’ve appeared throughout her work for years.
The collection also introduces the Appaloosa bag, inspired by Lucky Spot, a stallion belonging to Stella’s mother, Linda McCartney.
Which I think is lovely.
There’s something more interesting about a designer returning to a personal memory than simply selecting an animal because it looks good next to a handbag.
And the film carries a message beyond the clothes.
McCartney is using the campaign to raise awareness about the treatment and protection of America’s wild horses, with donations supporting equine welfare charities.
The horse featured alongside Kylie was trained, and the production says its animal action was monitored.
So yes, we’re here for the imagery.
But there’s an actual story underneath it.
Imagine that.
ALSO, CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW MUCH I MISS FASHION FILMS?
Not every campaign needs to be a movie.
Sometimes I just want to see the clothes.
But I do miss when fashion imagery left me with questions.
When a photograph suggested something had happened before the camera arrived.
When a campaign felt like a scene from a much larger story, and nobody was particularly interested in explaining the ending.
That’s what I like about Wild Horses.
Kylie doesn’t need to introduce herself.
Gia doesn’t need to make the film feel louder.
And Stella doesn’t need to invent a new identity for her brand to tell a story that’s personal to her.
The imagery has enough room to breathe.
There’s also a more playful side to the collection, including My Little Pony charms arriving in December.
A horse in the ocean.
A horse-inspired handbag.
My Little Pony.
Stella, I see the vision.
SO, WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED?
Kylie Jenner can apparently add equestrian film star to her résumé.
Gia Coppola should direct more fashion campaigns.
And sometimes the most effective way to make a familiar celebrity feel interesting again is to stop treating familiarity as the entire concept.
You can watch Wild Horses through Stella McCartney’s official website.
As for me, I would like more fashion films that leave me wondering what I just watched.
And perhaps fewer campaigns where somebody walks through an empty building looking expensive.
We’ve seen the building.
We’ve seen the walking.
Give me the horse.
TTYL.
