As the world paused in the Spring of 2020, Coach approached its 80th birthday. With all of New York City sheltering in place, Creative Director Stuart Vevers took to his desk and drew a wild card. Soft curves. Pastel hues. Squish. In the Pillow Tabby, a statement bag for the pandemic era was born, and the statement was: “Hold me.”
That same year, Coach launched its Spring 2021 Ready-to-Wear collection with embroidered details lifted from New York City’s 1980’s downtown art scene — Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and Andy Warhol. Under Vevers’ thoughtful direction, references to the “Greed Decade” and the height of the AIDS crisis took on renewed meaning, mirroring our collective fear of disease, and its cousin, intimacy.
Still unable to meet in person, Vevers, forever inventive, orchestrated virtual rendezvous with celebrities around the world to promote the line. Megan Thee Stallion, Debbie Harry, and Kate Moss assembled via Zoom. The resulting footage evolved into a film and lookbook by Juergen Teller with plainspoken images on collective confinement and solitude conveyed across the digital substrate.
Three years later, as the veteran Creative Director marks a decade helming one of New York City’s most celebrated heritage brands, he continues to push boundaries. With conceptual yet classic forms rendered in surprising materials, he deftly diverges from the brand’s signature pieces in the same breath he pays tribute to them.
The gestalt of Stuart Vevers is, in a word, understated. You are not likely to see him out in oversized glasses or voluminous fur coats. He consistently prefers unassuming attire — sweaters over denim. On an average day, you might spot him walking from his home in Tribeca to Coach’s offices in Hudson Yards. With a CV boasting the likes of Calvin Klein, Louis Vuitton, and Bottega Veneta, as well as creative directorships at Mulberry and Loewe, he is known both for his affability and penchant for reinvention,…
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