Pre-Fall 17: Coach's 75th anniversary nostalgia

Coach celebrated its 75th anniversary in New York last night by staging a pre-Fall 17 women's and AW17 men's catwalk show that was star-studded in more ways than one.

Celebrity count at the event was high, with names on the front row, including Drew Barrymore, Dree Hemingway, Zoe Kravitz, Diplo and Mark Ronson, but it was the stars on the catwalk that shone most brightly.

The brand's British creative director Stuart Vevers drew heavily on East and West Coast nostalgia for this collection and North America's space programme influenced many print and graphics with sweaters and baseball jackets emblazened with the NASA logo, along with planets, spaceships and other celestial bodies.

Fall is always a stronger season for Coach given that, after accessories, it is its outerwear that stands out and this collection was heavy on shearlings and leather with varsity references made loud and clear.

For women softer references came from the prairies with delicate patchwork floral dresses, long and maxi versions, paired with chunky footwear for balance. Floral skirts and trousers worked well when toned down with the aforementioned NASA sweats and animal intarsia jumpers.

The dual-gender runway was held at New York's Pier 94. "New York City, the spiritual home of Coach, is a cultural melting pot that embraces individuality and celebrates togetherness. It welcomes outsiders, like me, in a way that's honest and un-contrived. Those values are more important today than ever as well as being relevant to our goal of making Coach the authentic, modern luxury alternative," said Vevers.

Coach was founded in a small Manhattan loft by six artisans 75 years ago. It is now a global giant in the accessible luxury space and has just opened a flagship store on London's Regent Street in a unit previously occupied by British brand Jaeger. Over the summer Coach made several informal bids for British luxury house Burberry but was rebuffed.