Stuart Vevers focused on Coach’s history as an icon of New York, remixing Bonnie Cashin classics for today’s vintage lovers.
The entertainment value of the “Coach TV” public access video montage may have been questionable (save from Chaka Khan’s turn as a tele-psychic, which elicited some cheers), but when the runway show did finally get underway, it was worth the wait.
Designer Stuart Vevers pared back the superfluous layers that have overcomplicated some of his past efforts to zero in on Coach’s history as an icon of New York, right up there with Zabars, Serendipity, the Brooklyn Bridge and the Eagle Bar, all of which were name-checked on clever souvenir-style graphic T-shirts and mini totes.
In considering American fashion’s legacy, from sportswear to streetwear, the connecting thread is ease. So Vevers went back to the well of one of the godmothers of it all, Bonnie Cashin, remixing her checked outerwear and signature hardware for today’s vintage lovers.
A pink windowpane check cape with turnlock hardware, rust-and-navy mohair plaid shirt jacket, and canvas raincoat with leather pockets were just a few of covetable statement coats.
Baggy denim skater shorts, some in Coach’s logo print; exploded houndstooth shirts with leather trim and turn-lock fastenings; T-shirt dresses with trompe l’oeil Cashin-era cardigan details, and throwback ’90s kilts for all genders were fun, commercial pieces.
Acid-bright patterned flared pants, denim vests, silk print baby-doll dresses, wool baseball caps and hiking boots added to the ’70s-meets-’90s vintage appeal. And the newest bag with kiss-lock closure, is based on the original “Cashin Carry” from 1969.While many of the pieces were gender-neutral, Vevers described the men’s wear as “tougher,” with more leather and black pieces. But for the first time, he said he dressed guys in skirts as a way to drive home the unisex message.
The lineup embodied what Vevers described as “how the next generation would reinterpret our heritage. This time I was looking at people who will shape our future.”
Rodin Banica/WWD/
ByBOOTH MOORE, JEAN E. PALMIERI
