Simply Abu Dhabi Magazine XXIII

1 9 9 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I A few jackets in patched leathers of various variegated browns are distinctly 1970s, but otherwise what Vevers has designed is a line of menswear staples – everyday lumberjack shirts, peacoats, down jackets and battered Perfectos that everybody should have. He brings a curation of cult wardrobe pieces with details driven by utility, blown up to their ultimate expression in cartoonish, oversized proportions. Vevers says his collection is an unpretentious, low-fi take on luxury, reset and reimagined for a new conversation. He talked about the notion of “heroing the blue collar” in this collection and he has delivered blue-collar garments – staples, and basics. “A cool sweatshirt, a witty bag, and a pumped-up sneaker – that’s what appeals to me today, and to a younger guy. That could be luxury.” Cool is a word Vevers is interested in, too – a quintessentially American notion, it popped up in the 1940s, when Coach was founded (the label celebrates its 75th birthday this year) and when the idea of the teenager first began to be mooted as a cultural touchstone. And Vevers’ clothes today look, simply, cool: cool jackets, cool sweaters, a cool bunch of the brand’s signature reversed shearling coats whose fuzzy dandelion-fluff volume emphatically punctuate the collection. He has designed an accessible collection, both in financial terms and also aesthetics. His Coach clothes include references that everyone can understand. We hope that Vevers will see plenty more customers come autumn and that they’ll be looking cool in the Coach label.