The return of in-person shows at New York Fashion Week brought with it a sincerity rooted in the gratefulness to be back. Throughout the week, collections have been characterised by fun, and none more so than Coach.
Taking place at Pier 76, Stuart Vevers latest for the brand paid homage to the pioneer of sportswear and godmother of Coach, Bonnie Cashin with a show that wasn’t as concerned with getting the particulars right so much as exploring new ideas of form and shape. Or, well, perhaps they aren’t so new, but they bring together the past – Cashin’s uncomplicated, pragmatic style – with the present, to usher in a new future of dressing.
Here, sportswear styles were paired with classic prints: A-line silk and cotton anoraks in houndstooth and plaid patterns, worn with nothing more than a cap, skirt and simple bralette. Skater aesthetic was also a strong influence with low-rise jeans modelled with exposed boxer briefs, leather trousers mixed with boxy logo-tees that engulfed the wearer and calf-length jean shorts worn with boots. Skateboarders have long forged a style of their own, a class of true independents unbothered by much else other than nailing their next trick. In that way, it’s a marrying of influences that makes sense as Cashin designed for the independent woman of the post-war era.
It was also a love letter to New York itself, with t-shirts emblazoned with iconic NY haunts, accessories such as hotdog earrings and bead necklaces. The show closed with skaters flying over the pier as a drum corps played and the models walked in any direction that caught their fancy. An exuberant finale for a show that reminds us how much joy can be found in experimenting with fashion.
