Coach Introduces New Emphasis on Sustainability for Spring 2021
"It was important to me to challenge how we create our collections, and consider their impact on our communities and the planet," Stuart Vevers said.
If fashion month was following its usual progression, everyone would've moved on from New York and had their sights set exclusively on Europe by now. But it's not a normal year, and that means that it doesn't feel all that strange to have Coach presenting its Spring 2021 collection digitally after New York Fashion Week had officially concluded.
The brand released its new collection, entitled "Coach Forever," via a series of images and a short film made in collaboration with Juergen Teller on Tuesday. The pictures and video clips were "shot remotely from around the world," and feature models and friends of the brand including Kaia Gerber, Megan Thee Stallion, Kate Moss, Debbie Harry, Kiko Mizuhara, Jeremy Lin, Cole Sprouse, Jon Batiste, Paloma Elsesser, Hari Nef, Binx Walton, Lexi Boling, Xiao Wen Ju, Kelsey Lu, Bob the Drag Queen and Rickey Thompson.
Spring 2021 features "a mix of past, present and future designs," and is meant to tell "the story of Coach bags beyond the runway as they are worn, cared for, personalized and passed down," according to a press release. Bits of personalization are evident throughout the collection, with models' names stitched onto bags or sweaters. Shot against natural backdrops — outdoors, at a plant nursery and even some against the wildfire smoke-choked skies of the American West — the collection is meant to emphasize "the house's commitment to a more environmentally responsible approach to fashion."
"It was important to me to challenge how we create our collections, and consider their impact on our communities and the planet," Stuart Vevers said, in a statement.
To that end, the collection features "vegetable-tanned, naturally-dyed leather" alongside "totes made completely of recycled materials," including "recycled plastic bottles, accessories and ready-to-wear crafted of up-cycled remnants, and vintage pieces personalized with embellishments and embroidery." The real question will be whether this approach remains part of Coach's strategy even after the industry is past this moment of tight budgets, excess inventory and material left over from last season.
See every look from Coach's Spring 2021 collection below.
A scene from Coach's Spring 2021 digital presentation. Photo: Juergen Teller/Courtesy of Coach
View the 60 images of this gallery on the original article
