Stuart Vevers has spent the last five summers crisscrossing the U.S. on Amtrak trains. He s got a bit of the amateur anthropologist about him and no shortage of an expat s enthusiasm, shown in the way he picks up little treasures and ephemera and reinterprets them for Coach.
Today s set was an elevated train track surrounded on two sides by a painting of snow-covered hills: Brooklyn meets the Great Plains. That city-country concept extended to the clothes. The key piece was a black leather biker spliced with an un-dyed shearling sheepherder coat, equal parts cool and sturdy. But there were at least a dozen more jackets that had the winter-weary crowd buzzing, from pixelated plaid barn coats to straight-up Perfectos with "Wanted" or "Nomad" written in script across the back. Outerwear is a natural extension for this American leather goods brand, and Vevers, who hails most recently from Loewe, a Spanish leather goods brand, is doing a bang-up job of it. The coats stomped out on shearling-lined lace-up moto boots. Practical, but not so much so that they didn t stoke desire.
Finding that balance outside of outerwear and accessories is a bit more challenging. Vevers gave it a go with dresses that combined sweatshirt material with silk bandanna patches and prairie prints. The collection s other enticement was its attitude. Skull sweaters, found-object necklaces, and cross-body saddle bags that spelled out "Lucky" skewed young, but you don t have to be in the first blush of youth to have a rebellious streak. The black leather jackets covered with pins had all-ages appeal.
