And just like that, IRL fashion week is back! After months of watching digital presentations, we’re finally back to the glamour and spectacle of physical shows. Leading the pack stateside is Coach, which debuted its Spring 2022 collection on Saturday (11 September).
The collection celebrated a new chapter of Stuart Vevers’ vision for the house, paying homage to Bonnie Cashin, Coach’s first head designer and the originator behind the brand’s iconic turnlock, and a new fashion generation. Exploring ready-to-wear and bags from Cashin’s archive, each item was reinterpreted for the now to create a wardrobe of enduring, yet contemporary, American classics.
Held at Hudson River Park’s Pier 76, a new park on Manhattan’s west side where Coach were the first to hold a fashion show, the collection nods to iconic NYC institutions such as Central Park, Zabar’s, Serendipity and the Brooklyn Bridge – all fertile sources of inspiration for creatives of every discipline. As a way of giving back to the city’s dynamic artistic community, the offering features a tote crafted in collaboration with local independent artisans.
The runway show was accompanied by a special episode of “Coach TV: Public Access” made in collaboration with Coach Family. In it, viewers can encounter a truly iconic cast including Megan Thee Stallion, Chaka Khan, Bob The Drag Queen, Rickey Thompson, Ramla Ali, Jennifer Lopez and Michael B. Jordan collaborate as part of the tongue-in-cheek showcase of the house’s collection, which prefaced the show and was broadcast live around the world on official Coach channels.
As part of the house’s commitment to sustainability and pieces made to last, the collection also debuts updates of the Cashin Carry Tote in environmentally responsible leather and leather crafted of upcycled baseball gloves, together with upcycled denim ready-to-wear and reimagined vintage Bonnie Cashin outerwear.
Speaking of the new offering, Vevers said; “Spring presents my vision of a new vocabulary of American fashion inspired by our 80-year heritage through the lens of the next generation.” He also added that; “A celebration, too, of the colorful [sic], upbeat optimism of Coach’s first designer Bonnie Cashin, it’s a collection I designed in response to the times we are living through – and a collective wish for a better, brighter future.”
Watching the collection sashay down the runway in real time was a who’s who of the most relevant names in entertainment and fashion today, including; Kelsey Lu, Charli XCX, Tommy Dorfman, Alok Vaid-Menon, Kimberly Drew, Noah Beck, Lolo Zouaï and Joran Alexander and Thomas Doherty from HBO’s Gossip Girl reboot.
At HUNGER HQ we’re coveting the slogan tees, trucker hats and long, voluminous tartan skirts for a Zoe Kravitz off duty in Brooklyn vibe…
Check out some of our favourite looks from the runway below.
