The pile up of rusty old cars that greeted guests at Coach this afternoon seemed ominous. Was J. G. Ballard’s Crash by Stuart Vevers’ bedtime table or Cronenberg’s film adaptation on his laptop? Was Vevers done delving into all things Americana and turning Ballardian for spring of all seasons? As it turns out, no, of course not. Vevers’ Coach is a happy place, where the only things colliding are American eras and pop culture references like biker gangs and prairie girls. As we were making our way to the venue, a construction worker nearby, amused by all the street style action, shouted to the photographers, “Elvis is over there!” Little did he know that the King was indeed in the building across the street - printed on a t-shirt. Add Elvis fans to the crash. We were at any American town in the middle of nowhere, where teenagers rebel by hanging at the scrapyard. A town like the one in Stranger Things, for example, which would seem familiar to Winona Ryder and Millie Bobby Brown, who plays Eleven in the show, sitting in the front row.
Cap-sleeved black leather vests and biker jackets were individually customised with patches and feathers and bottle caps, among other trinkets. They were worn over everything; from sheer floral print tier dresses, tiered and tied with bows, to raw jeans with fifties turn-ups and studded creepers. One look had a camo varsity jacket printed with scribbles and roses over a black cross-stitch blouse with little bows, paired with a layered print skirt with moccasin boots and the only bag shown today, the Dinky. There was leather carwash fringing on a matte black leather coat, a shark sweater, an Elvis collage sweatshirt and khaki cargo jackets. By the end it all mashed up together so a fringed leather cape jacket had floral print panels or a prairie dress was made out of ribbons of other prints. Pretty rose-print tea dresses were vandalised with scribbles before the gang posed in front of the wreckage, Elvis crooning in the background. Squad goals and all that.
