Suzy Menkes: All Eyes on Coach

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The darkly playful little creatures staring, big-eyed, from the front of Coach bags, were almost as much of a draw as Gary Baseman, the artist who created them.

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For this installation at London’s Serpentine Sackler Gallery also featured Los Angeles-based Gary as a mind reader, drawing out from the fashion crowd their deepest secrets.

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Stuart Vevers, creative director of Coach, has lightened and enlivened the all-American handbag brand. Whilst taking inspiration for the collections and their presentation from all over the United States, he is also pitching for hip young followers — hence the sets of live music for the Serpentine evening event.

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But it was Baseman with his quirky drawings of wild things, from goggle-eyed gremlins to a blindfolded rabbit, who was a magnet for attention — as when the artist practised his craft at Colette in Paris last month.

The evening added up to a merry romp, which brought a cool attitude to Coach.