Stuart Vevers is surely one of the most interesting designers on the New York schedule. Ever since he produced Coach’s first-ever line of clothing for FW14, he has built a clothing division that often feels delightfully out of sync with the brand’s tentpole bags and accessories. Everyone knows what they’re getting with a Coach handbag, a dependable, decades-long fashion icon. The ready-to-wear line, perhaps best exemplified by the brand’s SS26 outing, is far more experimental and, even, touching on avant-garde.

Throughout, there were plenty of photocopy-effect trompe-l’oeil dresses, each featuring a cityscape of different American cities. Trousers were a patchwork of contrasting patterns, knitted vests were totally ragged, and many looks featured ties that looked almost stapled on. Some looks arrived on the runway purposefully stained, their fabrics smeared with oil, collars bent and crumpled as if lived-in.

In the show notes, Vevers spoke of striking a “delicate balance of polish and shine with grit, a pairing I think of as very New York.” It is exciting that Vevers looked to actual New Yorkers, yet veered away from minimalist wardrobe essentials and elevated officewear. Instead, there was a welcome chaos to this collection. It felt genuinely evocative of New York and its personal style.