Stella McCartney will be the Savannah College of Art and Design’s commencement speaker for the SCAD Savannah ceremony on Friday. It will take place at the Savannah Convention Center.

McCartney, who will receive an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from SCAD, will address more than 3,400 graduates from the university’s SCAD Savannah location representing more than 40 top global programs, including fashion design, fashion marketing and management, accessory design, design for sustainability, film and television, interior design, graphic design, illustration, animation and more. This year represents SCAD’s largest graduating class with more than 4,500 graduates across all university locations (Savannah, Atlanta and online via SCADnow).

“I’m truly honored to receive this recognition from SCAD and humbled to speak to the next generation of creatives at such a pivotal moment in their lives. Education, curiosity and challenging tradition have always been central to my journey. I believe young designers have the power to reshape our industry for the better. I’m very grateful to be part of that conversation,” said McCartney, who graduated from Central Saint Martins in 1995.

McCartney was named creative director of Chloé in 1997 and in 2001 launched her eponymous luxury fashion house and showed her first collection in Paris. A lifelong vegetarian, McCartney has never used leather, feathers, skin or fur in any of her designs.

After 17 years of partnership, McCartney purchased Kering’s stake in her company in 2018, and in 2019 she entered a partnership with LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton to further develop her brand, while also serving as a special adviser on sustainability to its chairman and chief executive officer Bernard Arnault.

Paula Wallace, founder and president of SCAD, said, “This spring, the largest graduating class in SCAD history joins the world’s most influential network of elite, creative pros. Across fashion houses, film studios, and Fortune 500 brands, SCAD alumni shape culture at the highest level. As the career of our commencement speaker — visionary designer and sustainability entrepreneur Stella McCartney — demonstrates, creativity with conviction can change the world. The future is yours, Bees!”

SCAD will also present an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters to Sam and Libby Edelman, footwear designers, and Michael Seum, vice president of design for Kohler, at the Savannah ceremony.

The SCAD Atlanta graduation ceremony will take place May 30. The speaker details for that event will be revealed at a later date.