New York Fashion Week’s AW24 womenswear edition has almost come to an end, after Willy Chavarria debuted a stellar collection rooted in his Mexican heritage, Ludovic de Saint Sernin went bondage-heavy with a collection inspired by Robert Mapplethorpe, and Peter Do dropped a Helmut Lang collection which explored protection vs. projection. Yesterday afternoon, however, it was the turn of Stuart Vevers to give us our first look at what he’s been working on for the last six months over at Coach. Here’s everything that went down.

THE SETTING WAS PRETTY DAMN GRAND

This season, Vevers picked out the grand James B Duke House to stage his new season show. With gorgeous views of Central Park just across the road, the location is prime real estate and as lavish on the inside as it is on the outside. With a huge marble staircase a big focal point, its many rooms are hung with massive crystal chandeliers and dotted with big gilt mirrors, chi-chi lamps, and comfy, worn in sofas. As guests piled inside from the cold, they were warmed up by pear and bourbon hot toddies. 

THE WHOLE THING WAS A LOVE LETTER TO NEW YORK

New York is an overstimulating, chaotic, amazing melting pot of cultures and aesthetics, which Vevers has frequently tapped into within his Coach collections across the course of his ten-year reign at the American house. This time around though, it really felt like the designer was paying tribute to his adopted city – which continues to excite him every day, “just like it did when I was a teenager growing up in Yorkshire”. That meant a kind of exploration of different archetypes: from the modern day yuppie dashing to work in the Financial District, to the debutante girlie pounding the pavements of the Upper East Side, to the cool kids who love to hang out in Lower East Side and Brooklyn dive bars watching obscure bands and drinking whiskey on the rocks.

SO, WHAT DID THAT MEAN FOR THE CLOTHES THEMSELVES?

Vevers served up business realness with oversized boxy tailored suit jackets and louche, wide-leg trousers, as well as blown-up trenches that practically drowned the models – ideal for wrapping up in against the bleak New York winter weather. Giving  morning after the night before were the big tuxedo jackets some of the girls slipped over hoodies and bare legs, like they’re borrowed them from their boyfriend to get the subway home, and there were a bunch of dishevelled prom dresses that had been dragged right out of the 80s and brought bang up to date through layering with chunky sweatshirts and clompy leather boots. 

Also on the agenda were a series of novelty sweaters, their chunky knit bearing cutesy ducks and bows, which were a chicer take on the kind of novelty stuff hanging on the racks of the city’s many Buffalo Exchanges, and the tried-and-tested ‘jeans and a nice top’ formula got an upgrade through baggy denim and crystal-encrusted, bow embellished camisoles. And naturally, given Coach was primarily a leather brand, there was also a procession of buttery pieces like pea coats and soft suede western jackets complete with dramatic fringing that are sure to be on a few wishlists come AW24. 

TOURIST TAT IS HOT FOR AW24

Perhaps the most fun part of the covetable, concise offering were the accoutrements: naff little souvenirs strung from zippers and handbags. Among them were novelty ‘I <3 NY’ mugs and little yellow taxi charms that can be swiped from just about any tourist trap on Canal Street, as well as big pretzels and juicy red apples – meaning if you can’t quite stretch to Coach prices, you can still get the look.