While last season Stuart Ververs wrote a love letter to his favorite places in New York City (Zabars, Serendipity, Central Park), for fall 2022 the Coach creative director wanted to transport us to a place he calls “Somewhere in America.”
“My collections often begin with a feeling, and for fall, the feeling was love,” explains Vevers. “To express this, the collection explores tensions between romance and toughness to reinvestigate Coach heritage. I liked the idea of creating a nostalgic world somewhere in America seen through a widescreen lens, mixing the energy of today with the nostalgia for pop culture that has always inspired me.”
Vevers built out a whole suburban soundstage inside the cavernous Basketball City event space at Pier 36 complete with crickets chirping, kids riding bicycles, and mom unloading groceries from the station wagon. The mise en scene for the Valentine's Day show was indeed very sweet—Vevers even left a single red rose on every seat—and for a moment I almost imagined I was back in high school in Indiana.
The lineup was heavy on nostalgic Coach standards like cozy shearlings and even featured a limited-edited archival Bonnie Cashin Sling bag from 1964, available to shop now. But despite all the romantic lace and crochet babydoll dresses, the pops of neon and the leather chokers that accompanied nearly every look felt not-quite-so Midwestern nice. At least not as I remember it—the vibe was definitely more Euphoria than Stranger Things. (Vevers says his inspiration was the leather bars of the 1970s, a reference that fell far outside of the experience of the twentysomething stars seated front row like Megan Thee Stallion, Tommy Dorfman, Noah Beck, and Rickey Thompson.)
The collection also featured a collaboration with graffiti artists Mint&Serf, who lent their raw, expressive artworks to trench coats, wader boots and skirts worn by guys and girls alike.
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