Coach’s S/S 2018 cityscape catwalk recalls 1970s New York

Since taking the creative helm of Coach, British designer Stuart Vevers has used his catwalk sets to explore the US history of the brand. From grassy prairie scenes, to images of Texan gas stations, Vevers’ runway constructions have spotlighted various facets of Americana – for the S/S 2018 show at Basketball City, the designer looked a little closer to the home of the brand, with a set design resembling a glittering Manhattan alley.

Vevers worked with set designer Stefan Beckman on a nighttime scene, which evoked the seventies-era New York experienced by the artist Keith Haring. Shimmering water towers and rooftops were dotted along the runway, crafted in wood and covered – like the rest of the catwalk – with 300lbs of shimmering gunmetal glitter. Models weaved between metal lamp-posts, through a dark doorway and even past a sparkling vintage Cadillac, and as the show began, video footage featuring the work of Haring was projected onto the walls of the runway, a nod to the artist who inspired the collection.

Jack Moss is the Fashion & Beauty Features Director at Wallpaper*, having joined the team in 2022 as Fashion Features Editor. Previously the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 Magazine, he has also contributed to numerous international publications and featured in ‘Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers’, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.