A Liberated Youth

Stuart Vevers delivers his dress code of the season by way of skater boys. Effortless, forward-looking and tinged with a sense of rebellion. Shirts are entirely optional.

- Kames Narayanan

“On the morning of my first day at Coach, my now-husband, Ben, gifted me a framed portrait of Bonnie from the archives of The Baltimore Sun. This portrait still sits behind my desk today,” wrote Stuart Vevers in Coach’s press statement for the brand’s Spring/Summer ‘22 collection.

It is a poignant disposition that illustrates Vevers’ relationship with Cashin’s body of work. Throughout the years, Cashin has often been referenced as the one who had been forgotten with time. However, her legacy precedes her name – some have even gone so far as to crown Cashin as the architect of quintessential American sportswear.

She was also the first lead designer appointed at Coach. Since taking the helm at Coach in 2013, Vevers has kept Cashin at the top of his mind. In moving the house forward in time, Cashin’s earlier designs have remained a point of reference for Vevers throughout his tenure at Coach.

The Spring/Summer ‘22 collection is no different in its starting point, taking a page from Cashin’s illustrious legacy. This season, he turned the pages of the history book to Cashin’s debut collection at Coach. It was then that Cashin introduced leather totes inspired by the paper shopping bags she saw on Madison Avenue to the world.

As a designer, Cashin was years ahead of her time. The functional leather tote, a staple in the accessories department to date, stands as a testament to her design sensibilities. “The best-designed handbag in the world is the leather shopping bag, so I didn’t try to improve on it,” Cashin once explained.