TPR Tapestry Inc

By Suzanne Kapner 

Stuart Vevers knew little about baseball when Coach Inc. approached him about becoming the brand's executive creative director.

But the 43-year-old British designer was intrigued that Coach's handbags were made from a type of cowhide used in baseball gloves. So he learned about the sport, and then extended the baseball reference to apparel -- making a Varsity jacket for a sample collection that landed him the job.

A version of the jacket has appeared in each of Mr. Vevers's collections since he joined the company in 2013. The designer has conjured other images of Americana, including prairie dresses and shearling coats that evoke the Western plains. Elvis, the Beastie Boys and Mickey Mouse also have served as inspiration.

It is all part of what Mr. Vevers calls his "optimistic, outsider's view of America."

Growing up in Doncaster, part of England's industrial north, Mr. Vevers, who has close-cropped red hair and favors black Acne Studios jeans, said he learned about fashion by going to nightclubs.

"Being a gay teenager in Northern England had its challenges," he recalled in an interview. "I was desperate to get out."

Both his parents left school at 15. His mother cleaned houses and his father manufactured tractors. His father was less than thrilled by Mr. Vevers's decision to study fashion design at the University of Westminster.

"Because he'd never had the opportunity to go to school, he wanted me to do something serious," Mr. Vevers said. After graduation, he landed at Calvin Klein and then moved on to a series of European labels that included Louis Vuitton, Mulberry and Loewe.

When Mr. Vevers joined Coach, the company was in a funk. It was losing market share to rival Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., and its bags were seen as overdistributed. He was given a mandate to reinvent the brand and turn it from a leather manufacturer into a fashion house.

For his inaugural collection, shown in Manhattan, fashion editors and store buyers snaked through a tunnel he had constructed that led to a spacious room where models sported red and black checked coats, miniskirts and hiker boots -- the first time Coach had shown complete ensembles.

The effect, according to Mr. Vevers, was Alice going down the rabbit hole, a reference to Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland."

"I wanted people to emerge from the other side," he said, "and see the new Coach."

Mr. Vevers has demonstrated a knack for taking Coach's symbols and using them in unexpected ways. For instance, putting a turnlock clasp -- introduced in the 1960s -- on a chunky, shearling lined boot.

"He's been successful at rebranding Coach," said Stefano Tonchi, the editor of W magazine. "You say Coach today and you identify not just with a bag, but with a wardrobe."

Mr. Vevers works from an office on Manhattan's West Side, which has a custom-designed couch in his favorite color -- pink. The designer said he was discouraged from favoring the color when he was younger. "But," he added, "I have thrown off the shackles."

Write to Suzanne Kapner at Suzanne.Kapner@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 22, 2016 08:14 ET (13:14 GMT)

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