This post was originally published on this site

In the Studio

By VANESSA FRIEDMAN

Welcome to Episode 1 of our fifth season of In the Studio, which goes behind the closed doors and shaded curtains of designers’ private work worlds. Here, Stuart Vevers, the executive creative director of Coach, reveals how the High Line changed his first collection, the virtues of radical transparency and where Felix the Cat fits in. (This conversation has been edited and condensed.)

Where are we?

We’re in the new Coach HQ, which is 14 floors in Hudson Yards, on the far West Side of New York City, just alongside the High Line. We’ve been here only a couple of weeks. The building we were in before was a few blocks away and was where Coach started in the 1940s. Until recently, this neighborhood didn’t even have a name. It was kind of down and dirty. Before I moved to New York to work here, I was working for Loewe and was based in Madrid. But I hear stories from people who’ve been at Coach a long time about arriving for work when most of the other people on the street were just going home from the clubs. Now it’s undergoing a huge urban renewal.

So this is kind of different from your old office?

This office is a really big change. Moving to a new space allows you to make a fresh start. Sometimes the visions of Coach from the past can feel quite sanitized, and I want Coach to be about something new and exciting and really represent the diverse city that is New York.

Does the building actually represent that?

It allows me and the people that I work with to challenge the ways we’re working. We got rid of halls! We’ve got all of our meeting spaces around a central atrium so that you can see people working. All of our meeting rooms on the design floor are open. There are no shades. I guess if I’m having a confidential conversation, I’ll figure it out. But I feel it’s important that there’s a sense of openness.

So what do people see when they look in?

That I’m definitely not a computer person. I love to sketch. For me, sketching is a way of working through ideas. I sketch a lot and fast. I sometimes sketch with a big, heavy marker if I’m blocked because it kind of loosens me up because I can’t get into the detail. I love a Sharpie.

I ended up in fashion through drawing. I was never a 12-year-old who dreamt of being a couturier. I didn’t even know the fashion industry existed. But I drew a lot. I drew and I drew, and then I started to paint and I started to make things, and that’s really how I got into fashion. Drawing is still what I do now after hours or first thing in the morning, just when I have some time to myself.

They see you drawing, but where are you sitting?

At the desk. The desk is kind of just me. There’s no chair in front. I never have that. The idea that I’m behind the desk and someone’s in front and we’re having a meeting feels a bit too headmaster-y. The small table in the corner, where there are a few chairs, is where we’ll have a quick half-an-hour meeting, a catch-up. The fancy leather sofa and shearling chairs and the nice table are a bit more one-on-one intimate. Like, let’s have a chat.

Most of the furniture is actually from the store. It’s natural that when something starts to feel a part of your brand, it becomes part of your environment. I’m sitting on a shearling chair. Over in the corner is a huge inflatable dinosaur. But I think the main piece of furniture will be my bright pink sofa, and that hasn’t arrived yet.

What’s behind your desk?

Right behind my desk is a mood board. I always start by pulling images. Usually I’ll order some books online and start to look at color. Often I’ll start with a photograph. I’ve been really inspired at Coach by the bigness of the great American landscape. Also the idea of iconic American movies, often things I grew up watching in South Yorkshire that have come back to me.

So movie stills, images from American photography. Joel Sternfeld has been a big reference. Terrence Malick has been a really big reference as well. Sometimes I’ll pin up my favorite things just as a reminder. You know, when it’s right in front of you, you keep going back to it or thinking about it.

Or maybe it’s something that I’m not quite sure what it means yet and I need to keep it front of mind. But generally each season starts with a reaction to what we’ve just done.

How did this season start?

I’m infatuated with the idea of the dreamer, the person who’s got this twisted nostalgia. A girl who’s not afraid to take a risk and take a chance and a girl who’s putting her wardrobe together from quite disparate ideas, and customizing and personalizing things.

But it changes. The first collection I did had a direct link to reality: I was walking on the High Line and it was winter, and every woman was wearing sneakers or boots. So I canceled anything that wasn’t a sneaker or a boot or somewhere in between.

When do you start?

I start earlier at Coach than I have at any of my previous positions. New York City is a really early city, but Coach starts particularly early. It’s quite normal to have a meeting at 8 — occasionally 7:30, which I don’t love. But generally I’m in the office between 8 and 9. That’s quite early for a designer’s studio. I’m usually here until 7 or 8. But I’ve learned to make decisions quickly and to trust my instinct. We create a lot of collections at Coach. I have to work fast and trust the people I work with, too.

Finally, why is there a cartoon character on your wall?

I feel like this is a moment to challenge what luxury is going to mean to the next generation. A sneaker or a T-shirt or a sweatshirt can be considered luxury. The idea of a pop cartoon character — like Felix the Cat, like Mickey Mouse, like Snoopy — cuts against the seriousness of what people consider luxury. And it makes people smile. That’s really important in how I work: I like to have fun, I like to smile and I want my work to make people smile.