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She’s the pint-sized performer and philanthropist who turns everything she touches to gold.
He’s the English designer and Coach creative director who scooped the coveted Accessory Designer of the Year award at the recent 2017 CFDA awards and is widely credited with reinvigorating Mulberry and Loewe over the course of his illustrious career. Together, Selena Gomez and Stuart Vevers were bound to make fashion magic.
When Gomez was announced the new face of Coach earlier this year, it wasn’t an altogether radical celebrity choice. The star, who stepped away from a similar role with Louis Vuitton to replace Chloe Grace Moretz in a contract worth a rumoured US$10million, was Vevers’ date for this year’s Met Gala and sat front row at the brand’s Autumn/Winter 2017 runway show in New York back in February.
Finally, her much-anticipated first campaign for the brand, shot by Steven Meisel, was released today. The road trip-themed shots see Gomez lounging across the blush-toned leather of a 1967 Plymouth Fury, which is meant to symbolise the freedom and endless possibility of an open road and a regular fixture in the brand’s advertising over recent seasons.
“Coach was actually one of my first designer purchases,” says Gomez. “Where I’m from in Texas, Coach was the must-have brand. I remember saving up with my cousin Priscilla to get matching wallets.”
To say it was a creative dream team on set is a mild understatement. Fashion photography legend Steven Meisel shot the campaign, with Fabien Baron managing creative direction, Karl Templer across styling, Pat McGrath controlling makeup and Guido Palau across hair.
As always, Vevers oversaw every element of the campaign’s conceptualisation. “Seeing [Vever’s] vision for the season come full circle was very special,” says Gomez, adding that the vibe on set was “very laid back”.
“Selena is a rebel and a romantic, a dreamer and a doer who boldly charts her own course,” says Vevers of his new campaign’s star. “To me, she speaks to a generation. She connects.”
Gomez is also committed to connecting to women who might not necessarily be the Coach customer via the brand’s charity foundation, which focuses on mentoring and empowering young women and improving their educational opportunities.
“That is what instantly drew me to working with Coach after we had our initial meeting,” says Gomez. “Earlier this year we spent the day visiting schools with the Step Up organisation, which Victor [Luis, Coach CEO] works very closely with.”
“Days like that is why I love my job.”
See Selena behind the scenes on the Coach AW17 shoot here:
All images: courtesy Coach
Credit: Steven Meisel
