Anniversaries are a funny thing, and by the looks of it, they make Coach designer Stuart Vevers wistful. On one mood board was Meg Ryan in a long, oversized khaki wool coat from the 2000 film Hanging Up and an image of layers of faded, peeling floral wallpaper; on another were balloons clustered in a ceiling corner and candles. Coach is celebrating its 85th year, and if Vevers was feeling celebratory, it was tinged with something like rue.
“There’s a lot of memory,” he said of the collection during a preview. “And I think once you decide you’re doing a party, an anniversary, you start to become sentimental.” Memories for Vevers included his wedding at City Hall, the suit he wore that day, and the shimmering confetti scattered on the pavement. “I think that’s important overall because of this idea of memory and remembering and my own personal nostalgia for fashion references,” he said. “I like memory as a source of inspiration because it’s not really fixed. It’s not exact.”
The clothes, he said, were not a retrospective, but they did adhere to the silhouette he has laid down over recent seasons: long and lean, a lightly slouchy pant and a cropped top. The show opened with rumpled suits in shades of gray, khaki, or sun-faded floral, sometimes shirtless or worn with a short sleeveless shirt (in leather or open-weave crochet) and the suit jacket tied around the waist. Often a floaty trench coat, designed to look turned inside-out with the lining exposed, was tossed on over, nearly skimming the ground. Simple bias-cut dresses—some with knit sleeves—and skirts over sheer pants were other key pieces. Later, the show lifted in mood, slightly, with dyed-sequined blazers or dresses finished off with a crushed bow at the back. The models wore askew party hats or crowns, and carried bags covered in confetti. Vevers and his team took the popular Brooklyn tote and turned it inside out, leaving the internal pocket exposed, or added various pockets (think: a coin purse) to the best-selling Tabby shoulder bag.
The overall effect was youthful, as Coach is wont to do, and a bit forlorn, or at least bittersweet. But ultimately it felt grounded in reality—a drooping suit, a trim top that bares just a touch of midriff, a tossed-on trench and some sneakers seem a no-fuss uniform that works for a lot of young people tired of the churn of fashion. And if the styling was a bit repetitive, so be it: you came away understanding what Vevers stood for this season, and there’s something to be said for the confidence of sticking to your guns. And perhaps Vevers wasn’t as saturine as the clothes might say. As the models did their final walk, curtains at the end of the runway parted to reveal a live youth orchestra from the Bronx, voguing dancers strutted the catwalk, and an explosion of confetti rained down on the crowd. And then there was the title of the disco song they played: “Love Is the Message.” “I like that idea,” said Vevers.
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