COACH
RELOVED
The Coach Reloved apprenticeship covers the process of making and mending luxury leather handbags for a more sustainable system within a fashion brand. Through this department I trained in leather prep, edge paint, and stitching repair for 6 months. After mastering all physical craft sections, I joined the ReLoved design team to create monthly drops of one of a kind, up crafted designs. While being with the design team half of the week, I was with the special projects team the other half of the week to physically execute all designs we created.
In addition to this program, apprentices under Coach and Kate Spade are required to showcase all skills they learned within their departments through an all encompassing presentation to the company.
This page focuses on the development of my collection and presentation. To check out some of my designs for sale from special projects and Reloved design click this link to go to the Coach ReLoved page!
MOOD BOARD AND EARLY SKETCHBOOK
The image to the left is my initial moldboard. I was largely inspired by texture, form, and the architecture of New York.
I also found it a trend to reference Coach’s designs under Reed Krakoff in the early 2000’s. I was largely inspired to include a feeling of heavy handed hardware for the collection.
From this mood board I began to do some early sketching (above) for forms that felt like a combination of modern trends, texture, and references from Coach in the early 2000s
PURPOSE
For my apprentice project I wanted to reinforce that the purpose of my collection is to show what can be created out of materials that are deemed too damaged for further use.
Hundreds of bags within the fashion industry go to the landfill, but Coach is truly ahead of the game for circularity because of Coach ReLoved and Coachtopia. Tons of bags get returned to the Reloved department every day for repairs. Other bags are deemed unrepairable, but if the customer agrees to let Coach recycle their bag rather than them toss it, they get store credit!
These bags are sorted for recycling, but instead of the bags being shredded for new material, I reharvested and repurposed the leather from the old handbags into entirely new bags for my collection
I lastly also sought to create a new system for canvas bags as there is currently no system in place to recycle canvas, only leather.
ORTHOGRAPHICS
AND
PAPER MODELS
Once I narrowed in on three designs I really enjoyed I began prototyping them by creating to scale orthographic drawings. I settled on a large oversized baguette silhouette, a shoulder bag, and a clutch. The orthographic drawings help inform my first paper models.
I love creating a quick paper model of any product design because it is a quick and easy way to visualize how a product’s size feels in real life in the hands or on the counter.
Apprentices are also encouraged to work with the 3D print team to quickly create manufacturable parts for bags we may have in mind. The clutch in this collection has a handle that was aided in creation by the Coach 3D print team.
REHARVESTING
AND UPCRAFTING
20 bags in total were recycled for this collection
This Coach mini Rogue bag I found in the recycling was the first bag I up crafted for proof of process to kick off the collection.
The top left shows some of the bags I collected from recycling that had different leather textures. The bottom left is a photo of all of the individually made tiles for the mini rogue.
The video shows how the front and back looked after applying all of the tiles. After the tiles, the rogue was transformed into a shoulder bag by creating a new strap out of more tiles
All hardware was recollected from the 20 bags, and either re used or recycled for this collection
REMADE AND
REIMAGINED
This is some of the process involved for the bags that I made from scratch from the paper patterns.
Each leather tile has a strip of 1.2 mm leather filler, and a layer of 0.6 mm leather that has been cut into a template that easily completely wraps each tile.
The side tabs for the oversized baguette bag were repurposed from a previous Reed Krakoff era bag found in recycling. (bottom right photo)
All tiles were machine sewn on, and after tiles were attached the bag was hand sewn to create the complete 3D silhouette.
RENEWING THE SYSTEM
Going back to my purpose for the collection, I was seeking to create a new purpose for canvas bags since they couldn’t be recycled through Coach’s current facilities.
I decided the best use for these bags was to create a beautiful custom liner for the bags made from scratch.
These pictures show some of the process of harvesting the signature print canvas from older bags, and stitching them together into a mosaic for the entire liner. (As shown in the bottom left corner)
The bottom right bags are some of the ones that were saved and used in the liner.
COLORWAYS
In addition to the physical bags I took the initiative to create CADS of different color ways I imagined for the collection. I went with a classic saddle brown color way for coach’s heritage, and a vivid red color way to add modernity.
THE GALLERY
With the help of the Coach Reloved photography team, please enjoy the photos of my finished, sustainable, luxury, leather handbags.
THE OVERSIZED DOUBLE LOCK BAG
The double lock bag is a large oversized baguette silhouette that is meant to be held under the arm, or over the shoulder. The hardware is inspired by COACH in the early 2000s and has a canvas signature print liner inside. This bag is a modern statement on craft and how it contributes to the value of the bag overall.
THE SIGNATURE STATEMENT CLUTCH
This clutch has a 3D printed handle I designed in collaboration with the Coach 3D print team. The handle has magnets embedded to allow for an easy and satisfying entry to the bag. This clutch is a cheeky take on the signature Coach logo as a statement piece for a luxurious night out in New York, the birthplace of the logo.
THE ZIPPER SHOULDER BAG
The mini Coach Rogue silhouette reimagined into a beautiful structural shoulder bag with a twist. The shoulder strap is an oversized zipper that can zip up into a singular strap or unzip to reveal two separate straps. This elevated shoulder bag is a more subtle statement that draws people in to observe everything that is actually going on throughout the design of the bag. The everyday shoulder bag is a silhouette that will always be a staple in modern culture and archives due to its timeless nature.
