At the New York Public Library, Coach Toasted 10 Years of Stuart Vevers with a Decadent Dinner
One of the most recognized brands in the world, Coach, calls New York City home. The American luxury fashion house, once known as just a handbag brand, hosted its spring 2024 runway show in the halls of the New York Public Library. Celebrating creative director Stuart Vevers’ 10th anniversary with Coach, the evening felt like an ode to his love story with the Big Apple.
“Coach is the reason I came to New York and the constant setting for my own New York narrative,” the British native explained. “Since I joined 10 years ago, of course, New York has changed immeasurably, as has Coach’s place in the fashion world and my life in it. Now a husband and father, New York is where I created my family.”
Parallel to Vevers’ exponential personal growth, the creative director revolutionized Coach’s seat at the fashion table through his modern heritage designs and tapping culturally-driven talents like Jennifer Lopez, Camila Mendes, and Lil Nas X, who were all in attendance. “When I joined Coach, we didn’t make clothes.” Vevers smiled. “Now we have fashion shows and dress people I admire for the Met Gala. We get to show Coach not only in just a great handbag but in a life lived from head-to-toe completely.”
Following the runway show, which showcased a lineup of reimagined leather looks from trenchcoats to oversized blazers to two-piece sets among collegiate-inspired sweatsuits and sheer maxi dresses for the more daring Coach girl, exclusive guests were escorted to a private cocktail in the Library’s Astor Hall. The alluring sound of a string quartet guided his starry lineup of attendees like Sasha Colby, Flo Mili, Dove Cameron, and Kitty Cash to the main event.
Close behind a gaggle of Vogue editors, including Edward Enninful, Virginia Smith, Nicole Phelps, Willow Lindley, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, and Lynn Yaeger, reveled in the opportunity to embrace an evening amongst friends before the busy NYFW show schedule takes off.
To have the Library all to ourselves felt like a movie set. One written and starring Vevers, his family, and the extensive Coach community. Standing in the dimly lit hallowed halls, one couldn’t help but fawn over the rich architecture and artwork. Up a cascading staircase to the second floor, the faint sound of a grand piano signaled the call to dinner in the Salomon Room.
Gorgeous long tables dressed in pristine white tablecloths and lined with colorful dahlias served as the decadent setting for supper. Archived books lined the room s perimeter, a perpetual reminder of our whereabouts and a nod to the collection’s elevated back-to-school vibes. Before the main course was served, Vevers shared a few sentimental words with the room.
“Out of everything we celebrate at Coach, the joy of diversity is what I’m most proud of,” Vevers began. “From heritage to new design techniques, from recrafting our archival pieces to creating new ones from leftovers that would otherwise be discarded. It’s the people, our team, our modes, our friends, and our clients, in all their diversity, represent what makes Coach singular. It’s a celebration of inclusion that we can all share the same dream, which I am most proud of when it comes to our work at Coach. I am proud of how much we have grown away from the industry norms and closed culture of 10 years ago.”
On theme, the menu for the evening was written in what appeared to be a typewriter font on an old library book checkout card. A salad of late summer vegetables followed by a pan-roasted black bass topped with hibiscus artichokes arrived at the tables and offered a colorful flavor and texture palette. Did I mention that the army of servers was dressed in a camel turtleneck uniform and maxi skirts? Perhaps the chicest waitstaff uniform I’ve ever seen.
For dessert, a table dressed in a cornucopia of desserts was revealed to guests delight. From macaron towers to chocolate ganache cakes and an array of fruit tart platters, there was something for everyone. An homage to Coach’s mission—one that puts accessibility and diversity at the forefront—and the change Vevers has championed for a decade and will continue to push from New York and beyond.
Neil Rasmus/BFA.com1/16Jennifer Lopez
Ben Rosser/BFA.com2/16Edward Enninful, Stuart Vevers
