Coach creative chief Stuart Vevers gets OBE

Stuart Vevers, one of the big group of British designers who’ve made a huge impact at the creative helm of non-British brands, has been recognised for his achievements with an OBE.

The creative director of American fashion house Coach has actually been appointed an “Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire” but everyone knows it as an OBE. He’s been recognised for “Services to Fashion and UK/US Creative Relations”.

His name was included in King Charles’ 2024 Birthday Honours List and his place on that list makes him the first creative director of an American fashion house to receive full OBE honours.

He’ll receive his award at a Royal Investiture scheduled for a later date.

Vevers said he’s honoured to get the award and “the connection between my home country, adopted country and creative pursuits brings everything I’ve worked for — and that is important in my life — together.”

Born in 1973 in Yorkshire, he studied Fashion Design at London’s University of Westminster, graduating in 1996. Since then he’s held design positions at Calvin Klein, Bottega Veneta, Givenchy and Louis Vuitton, and creative directorships at Mulberry and Loewe. While at Mulberry, he was named the British Fashion Council’s Accessory Designer of the Year in 2006.

But it’s at Coach that he’s made the biggest impact, holding the creative director role since 2013 and overseeing the launch of ready-to-wear for the first time in the history of the house.

The company said his “proven design acumen and grasp of youth culture have translated into growing global relevance and continued strong sales for the brand”. 

He’s received lots of recognition in the US. In 2017, he was named Accessory Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America (he’s been nominated six times), as well as American Designer of the Year by the Apparel & Footwear Association. Then there’s a Hall of Fame Design Excellence Award for the Coach Rogue Bag in 2021.