Coach’s Next Collection Is For All the Grown-Up Kids
People like to accuse our generation of not knowing how to grow up.
And you know, it’s kind of true. We can’t buy houses, we’re paying college bills for 20 to 30 years instead of just four, and none of us know how the fuck we’re going to retire when social security gets eaten up by our parents and there’s jack shit left for us.
So, yeah, if we’ve got a little Peter Pan syndrome, I think we’ve got a right to that.
Who wouldn’t want to keep one foot grounded in the days of obsessing over dinosaurs and spaceships, when everything came in primary colors and nobody cared if our clothes matched or not?
These are the thoughts you might find yourself having when you look at Coach’s women’s pre-fall 2017 collection, which was shown at Pier 94 last night. Some of us (read: me) didn’t make it on time for the actual show because of the whole perpetual-kid thing. But the after-party in honor of Coach’s 75th anniversary, full of prosecco, neon lights, disco, and hip hop, was lit.
I mean, look at this set:
There was also a chiller area, with cars, pine trees, and you can’t see it in this pic, but fake snow you guys!
But anyway, back to the clothes: on the girlier looks, the theatrically big buckles and bows, dainty hair barrettes, and a distinct lack of bodycon reminded me of playing dress-up. The bomber jackets, graphic sweaters, and movement-friendly trousers took me back to the days of hastily changing into play-clothes after school to meet my friends and play outside.
Creative director Stuart Vevers has been moving Coach toward classic Americana instead of the suburban mall vibes that accompany the brand. And last night, with the playful clothes and Route 66-esque scenery, I was in the mood to retreat back into childhood for more reasons than the fun of it all: there’s also the fear of our incoming president. Those of us who grew up during the Obama years are about to be longing for childhood and adolescence for that reason, too.
Still, if anything shows our country’s greatness (present-tense, not just past), it’s creative displays like this one, which pulled in wholly American imagery: road trips, NASA, classic cars, neon lights. American culture is created by people, not presidents, despite the government’s efforts to slow down progress sometimes.
The whole effect is yet another covetable Coach ready-to-wear collection. Oh, and about the bags, since Coach wouldn’t be Coach without ’em: the ones on the runway last night were nice and cheeky, with dinosaurs and pop-colored leather to make their mark instead of the pink C-prints of yesteryear. Because in case you didn’t get the memo, the new Coach is not only Americana af but cool with a capital C.
