A nostalgic snapshot of New York City
COACH reveals its global advertising campaign for the new Coach 1941 Autumn 2017 collection. Shot in Brooklyn on an authentic subway train with views of Manhattan and customised with vintage-inspired Coach ads, the campaign is an ode to New York, the city Coach has always called home, and stars the Coach gang in the latest collection for women and men.
Photographed by longtime Coach collaborator Steven Meisel, with styling by Karl Templer and art direction by Baron & Baron, the campaign portrays models Imari Karanja, He Cong, Kiki Willems, Faretta, Hiandra Martinez and Oscar Kindelan as a band of friends en route to their next adventure. The images embody a lightness of spirit and the limitless possibility of the city – with a nostalgic nod to the 1970s. Honey- coloured light streams in through the windows of the train car, mirroring the signature “Coach” colours – creams, caramels and natural tans – of the collection.
Autumn 2017 juxtaposes the romance of the great American outdoors with early New York hip-hop. It’s the idea of the prairie and the city, and riffing on Coach icons – bombers, varsity jackets and motos – with customised details, adding an unexpected playfulness. The collection also reimagines the rich luxury of shearling, a celebration of imperfection in its most authentic state.
Joining the Rogue and the Dinky as a key women’s bags is the Bandit, a sculptural style in a simple, two-piece construction designed to showcase the quality of the leather. And for men: the Rogue Brief in glovetanned pebble leather is a new urban staple inspired by designs from the Coach archive.
To accompany the launch of the campaign, Coach will also reveal a short film created by Baron & Baron. The film is a nod to the Showtime kids who perform on the city’s subway featuring the Coach gang with dancers Joel “Kozik” Leitch and Randy “KidTheWiz” Vargas of W.A.F.F.L.E. NYC, and music by Junkie XL.
Coach creative cirector Stuart Vevers says: “We’ve shot our campaigns in a scrap yard, on a suburban street and now in a subway train. I want the setting to be down-to-earth. The Coach guy and the Coach girl are dreamers, but they live a life we recognise.
“One of the things I love about Coach is that we are different from the traditional luxury world. We’re not presenting some fantasy lifestyle – it’s grounded in something real and completely of today.” – Alex Chai