“I was feeling psychedelic,” laughed Stuart Vevers after his great Coach show on Tuesday. The brand has become known for its atmospheric stagings, involving dinosaurs, glitter, and very dark show spaces. This season, Vevers saw fit to throw all that out the window, and instead let the light in. Literally. He had the windows of the huge show space uncovered so the February sunshine could attempt to get into the wood lined venue. “I began the season thinking about color, and I went to my library at home, where I have books by Kaffe Fassett,” the legendary textile designer and artist. “He’s like a magician of color. Just reading about how he interprets color — it’s all about nature — I just thought ‘I have to give this guy a call.’” Which, of course, he did, leading to this collection’s fruitful collaboration.
Fassett’s florals adorned all manner of designs, from simple dresses that were a departure from Vevers’ usual Prairie stylings, to coats, and oversized parkas. Throughout, the sweet florals were mixed with a new monogram shearling, which gave the looks a wild, rough edge. “We got the trials [of the shearling] and it was quite messy… then I thought, it makes it cool that it’s distorted.” Throughout, there were unexpected touches, like a knitted tiger print jacket for guys, or Oslo Grace in a plaid suit, or Kaia Gerber in a fringed, western jacket. You felt that Vevers was playing with individual characters rather than a Coach army. This too was reflected by the casting, which was awash with new faces (ending with particularly fabulous turns by Missy Rayder and Dree Hemmingway).
It’s also Vevers’ fifth anniversary at the brand. “Psychedelic makes me think of opening your mind, because I wanted this to feel like an evolution, and try new things,” he said — no greatest hits here, and not a varsity or biker jacket in sight. Vevers’ oversize silhouette and cosmic color scheme point to a new direction for the house. “I want light. I want to let the light in,” he laughed. “That felt like a big change.” In this case, a change is definitely a good thing. The next five years should be interesting.
