Olympics Dispatch: Stella McCartney on the Opening Ceremony in London

From  Vogue.com

by Stella McCartney | Photographs by Mary McCartney

On Friday evening, we drove past the Tower of London and arrived at the stadium—I was so amazed by it. From a fashion perspective, I went for a total gold look. I am so honored and proud of this great island of Great Britain, and the opening ceremony lived up to all expectations; it was breathtaking. The Shire horses and the Kenneth Branagh parts were brilliant, and then Daniel Craig did his James Bond bit with Her Majesty—a perfect example of great British humor. And what history! I never thought I would be a sucker for an Olympic ceremony moment, but when the trees were raised from the ground as they stripped rural England and the floor was dismantled to reveal the Industrial Revolution (which started in England), I was so gripped. 

Then came the Suffragettes (here to remind us all of the sacrifices that were made to change womens rights) before an homage to the sixties—Yellow Submarine! Sgt. Pepper's! I am a proud daughter. The Olympic rings floated over my head, and then exploded into a light show... 

The section dedicated to the midwives made me think of my grandma Mary, who was Irish—she would have loved it. The NHS was represented as well as the Great Ormond Street Hospital, one of the most incredible children's hospital here in London. A very dear friend of mine's child just had a bone marrow transplant there. It's so important that they are being recognized in this ceremony, they deserve it!

Just when I thought designing the uniforms for Team GB was hard, imagine what working on the wardrobe for this ceremony must have been like?!

Suddenly it dawned on me that my dad was about to perform. I just looked over at him. "You're going to be down there soon!," I said. I was so proud.

My daughter was so happy to see Mary Poppins while I was getting a bit interactive by swinging my light paddle in the air—that was a good workout. There were lot of paper mache and velcro in da' house, and then Mr. Bean came in and the kids were completely engaged! I could see the torch was coming—and close behind it is none other than David Beckham. He did tell me he was a tad busy and would be late—a tad busy indeed! 

I must admit, when Danny Boyle showed me the plans for this opening ceremony concept about a year ago, I had no idea how he would pull it off, but he did it brilliantly.  When, at last, Team GB came into the stadium, Chris Hoy was holding the flag; he is such an inspiration. Other favorites: The Blur moment was a stand out and the Artic Monkeys basically rule, love the lead singer's Elvis rockabilly look—go Alex go! I had to rush out just before the end ofHey Jude in order to beat the traffic and do a good old fashioned runner. Our group (about 20 of us) caught a golf buggy and were dragging on its little electric engine. As we drove away, we saw that all the Olympians who had just walked around the stadium were now milling around. It was amazing to be surrounded by them and all mixed in together. A truly peaceful moment with everyone so happy, running with smiles and waving flags. It was quite different to anything that I had ever experienced. Everyone was high on pride and everyone had come together as one. The Olympics really do stand for something magnificent. 

July 29, 2012 12:28p.m.