Coach 1941’s Stuart Vevers is the third designer in three weeks to stage a “destination show” in Asia. Following Valentino and Dior Men in Tokyo, Vevers’s men’s and women’s Pre-Fall collections traveled 7,377 miles from New York City to Shanghai, which has become one of Coach’s biggest markets since its launch there in 2003. It’s not just the handbags that do well in China; at a cocktail party on Friday night, CEO Joshua Schulman reported that Coach’s ready-to-wear is booming. How could Vevers not be inspired? The decision to show in Shanghai came about nine months ago, before he designed the collection, so he had the city in mind when he whipped up the acid-color shearlings, handkerchief dresses, and trippy knits we saw on the runway tonight.
We’ve learned that the optics of a far-flung, one-off show can be tricky. Tonight’s event wasn’t a “Chinese show”—there were no dragon prints or chinoiserie—nor was it a marketing stunt that ignored China’s history and codes completely. Instead, Vevers thought of it as a “mash-up of New York and Shanghai.” That started with the set: a supersize version of a New York City street, complete with a two-lane road, blinking traffic lights, neon bar and restaurant signage, and vintage cars. A few of his favorite New York models were flown in for the occasion, including Lexi Boling, Adesuwa Aighewi, Kiki Willems, and Indira Scott. Those beauties walked the runway alongside several new Chinese models whom Vevers scouted less than a week ago; Huang, the male model who opened the show, was one of them. It isn’t an overstatement to say it could make his career. In addition to promoting the new collection, generating excitement among Chinese customers, and all the other things a runway show is supposed to do, this one created a platform for young talents, too.
As for the clothes, the mash-up of Coach’s hometown with its new favorite city was relatively subtle. “What I’m really struck by is the casualization of fashion on the streets,” Vevers said. “A lot of that has come from Asia, and it’s becoming a bigger part of everyone’s collections.” At the same time, young Asian shoppers have a deep appreciation for fashion and newness; they’ll wear Coach’s metallic prairie dress but maybe with sneakers and a denim jacket. That high-low sense of style may have inspired Vevers to dial back the ruffles and eclecticism; in their place, he worked with rich colors, specifically monochrome looks that mixed different textures and shades. “I liked the idea that these clothes were dipped in color,” he said, pointing out a men’s look that combined an oxblood jacket, maroon track pants, and a bright red T-shirt. “It gives it a more polished feel, and it’s a bit more pulled-together.”
That doesn’t mean he abandoned Coach’s tongue-in-cheek charms. Vevers said he was most inspired by Shanghai’s contemporary art—“I don’t think there’s anywhere in the world with an art scene at this scale,” he added—and tapped four local artists to reinterpret Coach’s mascot Rexy the dinosaur for the collection. (This is where those aforementioned young talents come in.) The twin brothers behind the music collective Yeti Out incorporated her (yes, Rexy is a her!) into their signature smiley face motif, for instance, and Guang Yu painted Rexy in spontaneous, graffiti-style paint. Also happily weird: Vevers’s mention of “early Alice Cooper” glam-rock references. “It feels Coach-y,” he said. There were touches of that “exuberant” vibe in the clothes but more so in the collection’s standout shoe: a heeled, chunky platform boot worn by guys and girls alike. We have a feeling you’ll see it on the streets of New York, Shanghai, and everywhere in between.
