'Hit the roof': Stella McCartney said she would sue

Designer Stella McCartney has furiously demanded that a leading fashion house drop one of its adverts - because it features a model wearing lingerie from her collection beneath a mink fur coat.

Ms McCartney - an ardent supporter of animal rights who refuses to use fur or leather in her own designs – is said to have hit the roof and threatened legal action after spotting one of her bras in the advert for Hockley, a fur boutique based in Mayfair.

The offending ad appears in the latest issue of Vogue and shows a model in a black lace McCartney bra draped in a £6,450 full-length mink black and white ‘Atlas’ coat accessorised with a leather belt.

‘Stella went absolutely ballistic when she saw it,’ a source at Ms McCartney’s store in Mayfair told The Mail on Sunday. ‘I have never seen her so angry. She hit the roof and said that she planned to sue.

‘She allows her accessories to be lent to shoots all the time, but she would never ever allow anything of hers to go to a fashion house that deals exclusively with fur.

‘If Stella knew it was going to be used by Hockley there is no way she would have lent it. It was loaned to a stylist in good faith, but when Stella saw the picture she was furious. She said: “It goes against everything I stand for.”

‘She didn’t see any proofs, she just saw the campaign. It’s a monumental cock-up. Stella is disgusted.’

The full-page advertisement would have cost Hockley close to £26,400 to place in Vogue’s September edition. Shooting the photos would have cost at least another £10,000.

Last night Hockley issued a grovelling apology and said that it would not be using the advert again.

A spokesman for the company said: ‘Hockley is aware of Stella McCartney’s views and is respectful of them. This was an unfortunate mistake and Hockley would not intentionally make anyone feel uncomfortable.

‘Hockley both requested and was told that the item was a vintage piece and apologises for any embarrassment caused to Stella McCartney. It is not Hockley’s intention to use the image again.’

Fur flies: Hockley has apologised and pledged not to use the ad again

A source from Stella McCartney said that the mix-up occurred when a fashion stylist they had dealt with in the past asked to borrow some samples from her collection.

‘A stylist asked to borrow lingerie to use for an editorial fashion shoot in April,’ the source said. ‘The stylist made a mistake and used it in an advertising campaign instead, under a fur coat, without telling Stella McCartney or seeking her approval.

‘When the magazine came out Stella was obviously very disappointed as it goes against her beliefs.’

Hockley is renowned for stocking the world’s best fur designers. The boutique offers a unique purpose-built cold-storage vault to keep the furs of its high-profile customers in perfect condition.

Thirty-six-year-old Ms McCartney, a strict vegetarian, is a well known animal rights campaigner and held the Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Humanitarian Awards ceremony in her Mayfair boutique in 2006.

Ms McCartney has previously been vocal about her dislike of the use of real fur in advertising campaigns and even berated her close friend Madonna for wearing it. The designer said: ‘Madonna won’t wear anything she doesn’t eat. But the other day she was wearing this coat made from baby lambs that hadn’t even been born. So I said: “I didn’t know you ate foetuses.”’

Ms McCartney, daughter of Sir Paul McCartney, has also fallen out with her close friend Kate Moss for wearing fur and attacked supermodel Naomi Campbell for stepping out in mink.

‘Stella just won’t tolerate it,’ the source added. ‘She’s so offended that someone could use her clothes in a campaign with fur.’

A spokesman for Stella McCartney last night declined to comment.