Runway Rundown: Coach F/W26 Embraces the Slacker Teen Spirit

It really isn’t a phase for Stuart Vevers. While other designers chase the new, he returns to the same worn corners of American culture and finds something fresh every time. His moodboard for Coach’s F/W26 collection reads like a scrapbook of half-remembered dreams: a young Jodie Foster, a California skateboarder mid-cruise, and a still from The Wizard of Oz (a film he’s watched every year since childhood).

In his world, youth culture is a continuous thread.

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Smells Like Teen Spirit

This season, Vevers expanded his view beyond the city streets, reaching toward the entire expanse of America. On the runway, deconstructed jackets appeared. There were plaids stitched alongside the lining, worn loose over bare skin, and there were varsity references on certain pieces. Prim, lace-trimmed dresses with pilgrim collars were also seen. A long-haired model strutted in a hand-knit eagle sweater, as if heading for their next class.

“Teenage slacker” would be an apt description for the entire lineup, but not in the derogatory sense. Better to say these clothes look nonchalantly cool. Growing up never really ends, yet maybe we carry our younger selves in the way we dress. Our inner teen is there just beneath the surface, and Stuart Vevers approves.

Photos: COACH