Coach Forever

Coach Forever, by Juergen Teller

A supplement publication from System magazine issue 16, 2020. 

'Something i've never done before. Sitting in London, photographing people remotely in NYC, New Jersey, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, London, Tokyo, and Shanghai over a period of five days was super exciting."

Editors Letter: 

For all fashion's ongoing talk of 'disruption', it took the mother of all disruptors to truly stall the system and encourage change. The Autumn-Winter 2020-21 season will forever be synonymous with the global Covid-19 pandemic, and the subsequent ways in which designers, brands, the industry at large and ultimately, the consumer responded. Of course, collections were nonetheless designed, and runway shows made sporadic appearances, but this was not business as usual. As such, it provided the more adventurous with the chance to embrace the idea that necessity is the mother of invention.

Which is why this Coach booklet exists.

To join the dots between a seasonal collection, a far-flung family of ambassadors and a global audience, the American brand chose to explore uncharted territory. After all, why just do another runway show when you could do anything? •We had to rethink everything, and that became liberating,' says Coach creative director Stuart Vevers. 'I thought,

"If not now, when?'"

Cue a vibrant hybrid collection that mixes and matches seasons and styles, combining Keith Haring prints, slip dresses, bold-print sweaters, and an ongoing Jean-Michel Basquiat collaboration. Cue photographer Juergen Teller's nature-embracing view of the world and a remote photography app that allowed him to shoot stills and video in multiple international locations without ever leaving his West London studio. And cue the

16-strong 'Coach Family', presented as the stars of this 'off-runway' show in Teller's short film: Kaia Gerber and Hari Nef in New York; Kate Moss and Lexi Boling in London; Cole Sprouse in Vancouver; Megan Thee Stallion in Los Angeles; Xiao Wen Ju in Shanghai; and Debbie Harry in New Jersey, to name but a few.

It's testament to the vision and execution of the project - entitled Coach Forever, a nod to the brand's 80th anniversary next year - that the imagery feels as intimate and effortless as it does. Truth be told, if we hadn't just given the game away, you might never have known that thousands of airmiles hadn't been chalked up making this global production a reality. It's amazing what you can do when you can't do what you're used to. Hat's off to Coach - here's to another 80 years of taking risks.

Works by Teller, with Dovile Drizyte as creative partner. 

Condition: Excellent