On a balmy Thursday evening in London, a fleet of black sedans began pulling up outside Two Temple Place, the neo-Gothic architectural wonder overlooking the Thames from the Victoria Embankment. Soon, guests were gliding up the sweeping staircase in the building’s central atrium, making their way to the wood-paneled reception room on the first floor to sip spicy margaritas and graze from platters of classic British snacks, including pork pies and sausage rolls dotted with miniature Union Jack flags.

The reason for the celebration? Stuart Vevers, the British designer who has now spent over a decade as creative director of the American luxury behemoth Coach, had come straight from Buckingham Palace. There, an OBE medal was pinned to his (self-designed) suit by Princess Anne—making him ​​the first creative director of an American fashion house to receive the honor.

Stuart Vevers and his husband, Benjamin Seidler, with their two children after the investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Photo: Getty Images

“I think sometimes our industry is seen as something frivolous, but I’ve never found it to be that way,” Vevers told Vogue at the event. “Our industry brings people joy, there’s the beauty of craft, the wonderful people who work in our industry, and it feels like this recognizes that side of fashion that’s really meaningful for me, because it’s about fashion within a broader context.” Indeed, the OBE was given to Vevers not just for his services to fashion, but also for the work he has done around UK-US creative relations. “Being far away from home, but still being recognized for this, makes it even more meaningful,” he added.

That deeper meaning was evident as Vevers delivered a speech, after being introduced by Coach’s CEO Todd Kahn and congratulated for this “very well-deserved honor.” Surrounded by many members of his family who had traveled down from Yorkshire—as well as his husband, Benjamin Seidler, and their two children, River and Vivienne—Vevers was visibly emotional. “Ben, River, Vivienne, I love you so much,” he said to the gathered crowd. “You teach me how to wake up every day in an exciting new world where we can invent our own rules. In the picture gallery at the palace today, when we were waiting for the investiture ceremony to begin, Vivienne curled up on a plush tasseled couch and decided, in all her finery, to take a nap. To be completely oneself—that is what she teaches me, and the honor for which I am most grateful.”

After Vevers’s touching speech, it was time to head downstairs, where a surprise awaited: past the fleet of waiters holding trays of espresso martinis—and past the tables stacked with British desserts, from slices of Battenberg cake to mini jam and cream scones and lemon meringue tartlets—Denise Pearson, of the beloved ’80s pop-R&B group Five Star, took to the stage to belt out a selection of her hits. It turned out that his team at Coach, knowing Vevers was a mega-fan, orchestrated the performance—and in the immediate aftermath, the designer was still reeling from the surprise. “I’m still in shock,” he said. “I had their posters on my wall as a young teenager, and I still listen to their music today. I’m a huge, huge fan.”

Afterwards, guests spilled out into the building’s gardens to smoke and sip cocktails, with many remarking it had the authentically celebratory feel of a wedding—complete with disco classics booming from the speakers, and kids running between guests’ knees. Vevers has long had a reputation as one of the nicest guys in fashion—now, he’s one of the industry’s most highly honored designers too.