NEW YORK – Coach turned back the clock with a collection of looks reminiscent of past eras, including 1970s romance and 1990s grunge, with a theatrical presentation at New York Fashion Week.
Mixing the aesthetics of a small-town setting with a catwalk fashion show inside a huge basketball facility, designer Stuart Vevers showed vignettes of Americana in Monday's show at the cavernous Basketball City space on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Entitled “Somewhere in America,” the theme was quintessential suburbia, beginning with banal activities of everyday life.
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Models sat inside houses, removed bags of groceries from the back of a station wagon, and walked a perfectly coiffed Afghan hound. There were even a few bicycles ridden through the dimly lit venue. There was also a nod to Valentine's Day, with red roses and heart-shaped cookies placed on each seat.
According to the show’s press notes, the British designer wanted to “evoke familiar feelings of home and nostalgia for the shared experiences and American stories that connect us all.”
As the theatrics wound down, the collection emerged, with models walking down a lit path to music from The Carpenters.
Many of the handbags were neon-hued, and the eyewear, too. Leather waistcoats, pants, and vests were tight and bold with a 1970s edginess, while the puffy shearling coats gave the impression of a soft, warm hug. Babydoll dresses with lace, crochet and brightly colored patterns sported looks from 1960s mod to 1970s bohemian. As for the grunge, there were plenty of oversized printed tees with designs by California-based graffiti artists Mint and Serf.
From The Carpenter’s version of “Superstar” during the show, the finale shifted to the eerier cover by Sonic Youth. As that song played, models skipped the traditional group walk down the runway, instead converging from both corners to the front of the “Somewhere in America” set, standing in front of the houses and props and waiting for Vevers to take his bow.
Celebrities in the house included music stars Meghan Thee Stallion and Ava Max, “Riverdale” actor Charles Melton and actor Tommy Dorfman.