Stuart Vevers isn’t getting caught up in the negativity that permeates the world today. Instead, the Coach creative director did his part to lighten the mood.

“Coach has always been an optimistic, positive brand,” he said. “And this is a very forward-looking collection. At its heart, it’s about looking forward positively, optimistically.”

Although the distressed denim and leathers and the grunge-influenced outfits didn’t exactly scream positivity, what they did prove is that Vevers continues to be a master at knowing how to speak to young people, Coach’s target customers. He took these Coach followers on a journey that time-traveled from New York in the ’70s to Seattle in the ’90s.

Those were some of the references evident in his spring women’s and men’s collection, shown at Pier 36 in downtown Manhattan on Monday afternoon, a location Vevers created to feel like a city at dawn, a time that he said “embodies that new day possibility.” That aesthetic also showed in the color palette, which was lighter than usual but still had “a very Coach sensibility” with its “warm, pale saddle colors.”

While the grunge references were unmistakable, there were also a few pieces that showed true playfulness, notably sheer dresses emblazoned with balloons, stars or hearts. But while pieces like that lightened the mood, “there was still a balance of polish and shine with some New York grit,” he said. “That’s a different balance than we’ve had in recent seasons.”

That juxtaposition was evident in the loose tailoring complemented by distressed leather jackets and scuffed boots and sneakers. There were raw cut, unlined suede jackets and a collection of T-shirts and shirtdresses sporting images of some of Vevers’ favorite places, such as Seattle; Santa Cruz, Calif.; Detroit; Phoenix, and, of course, New York City.

Most of the pieces were genderless, such as the wide, tattered jeans paired with crop tops, and the raw edging on many of the pieces that spoke to this season’s undone trend. Among the standouts were pants and long pleated skirts created from three different menswear patterns, styles that brought your grandfather’s heritage pieces into today’s modern wardrobe.

Pants as a whole were wide, but tops and outerwear were more fitted. Vevers described one of the suits as sporting “a narrow shoulder, quite cropped but angled at the back so it feels quite fitted. And the underpinnings, knitwear and T-shirts, they’re all fitted as well.”

The collection featured upcycled materials in some of the denim and leather pieces along with knitwear that looked frayed. These Coach (Re)Loved designs spoke to Gen Z’s propensity for vintage.

Vevers continued to pay homage to the core of the brand with accessories ranging from bags that were “quite geometric,” many of which featured the brand’s signature “kisslock frame,” in duffels, barrel bags and pouches, some of which were shrunken and worn as necklaces. “That definitely came from this idea of New York, the way that New York is so good at providing random objects like a playing card dropped on the street, or a random sticker on a lamp post,” he said.