Fashion brands have a larger presence at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, taking place this week in Las Vegas.
Revolve’s leadership team spotlighted the company’s AI retail innovation, Adidas executives spoke about the company’s innovative approach to the creator economy, and Coach CEO Todd Kahn debuted the brand’s latest material innovation in collaboration with four-year partner Gen Phoenix.
At the event on Thursday, Coach announced a line of Coach Classic products produced using Gen Phoenix’s new to the market recycled leather-derived material. The products will be comparable in price to Coach’s upcycled Coachtopia products, at $150-$550.
“We want to make CES more fashionable,” Kahn said jokingly. Kahn said CES was a fitting stage for Coach to demonstrate how it’s tackling sustainability challenges. “We’re not just showcasing the product, we are showing how to take an innovative idea and make it work at scale,” he said.
CES has earned a reputation for showcasing technological breakthroughs, and that’s increasingly included innovations in fashion. Last year, EssilorLuxottica hosted an exhibition of its hearing aid glasses and StyleBot debuted its AI-driven styling assistant capabilities.
With the debut of the Coach Classic line at CES, Coach is demonstrating a continued commitment to sustainability as many fashion brands pull back on related efforts. More than a quarter of the companies in the Fashion Pact, the industry’s largest CEO-led sustainability initiative, have not yet set basic climate goals five years after the Pact was created. The Pact includes Inditex, H&M and Kering. All have pledged to set science-based targets to reduce emissions by 2030.
Tapestry, the parent company of Coach, committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 84% by 2024, which it did, and to sourcing 90% of its leather from sustainable tanneries by this year. Tapestry’s 2024 revenue was $6.75 billion, with Coach driving the most revenue among its brands. In 2023, Coach launched Coachtopia, a sub-brand of products including the Alter Ego bag made from leather waste transformed by Gen Phoenix.
“We are very focused on our positioning of expressive luxury, which we announced about two and a half years ago,” said Kahn. “True luxury today is about self-expression and empowering this younger generation. We knew we had to ring-fence [Coachtopia] to take it out of the normal cycle. Great ideas go to die in corporations, so we had to protect it.”
He added, “[Our product strategies] all go back to a clear understanding of who our consumer is and what we’re trying to address. Innovation isn’t just about new colorways, but real breakthroughs. … What we’re doing with Gen Phoenix and Coachtopia is true innovation.” Coachtopia’s debut collection sold out twice, pointing to strong consumer demand.
“Sustainability is becoming table stakes for younger generations,” said Elyse Winer, CMO of Gen Phoenix and general manager of consumer. “They shouldn’t have to pay more for it, and we shouldn’t have to compromise on quality or performance.”
Coach’s commitment to long-term, meaningful sustainability has been supported at every level of the company’s operations. Kahn emphasized that, for Coach, innovation is an ongoing process that spans the entire business. “We want big commercial ideas,” he said. “What we’ve done with Gen Phoenix is about making a product that people actually want, at a price they can afford.”
Coach’s parent company, Tapestry, manages its relationships with leather goods suppliers, among other supply chain partners. The company owns several design and production facilities, including a New York City-based atelier, where designers collaborate with master craftsmen to ensure quality and innovation are maintained.
“We don’t just buy pre-made product,” said Kahn. “We’re involved at every level, from the suppliers to the factories. That’s how we make sure we’re delivering something that meets our standards.”
Winer said Coach’s know-how across categories has allowed the Gen Phoenix partnership to flourish. “Coach brought its expertise in leather and its deep understanding of the consumer, which [Gen Phoenix] doesn’t have,” she said. “Together, we’ve elevated the material to meet the needs of Coach’s customers [at the right price]. This is about developing a sustainable product and scaling it in a way that truly moves the needle.” According to Gen Phoenix, the prices for its leather alternatives are competitive.
Scaling material innovation has become a headache for brands that don’t own their factories, as suppliers can be resistant to changing materials. In addition, in the last two years, several fashion material innovation companies, including Bolt Threads, Renewcell and the Material Innovation Initiative, have shut down due to financial challenges and low demand.
In collaboration with Gen Phoenix, Coach is paving the way for the circular economy to take root in luxury fashion. “We see our material as complementary to the leather industry, not competing with it,” said Winer. “The goal is to maximize the use of the leather hide and reduce waste, which aligns with our approach to sustainability.”
According to the company, Coach will continue to integrate recycled leather from end-of-life products into Coachtopia and Coach Classic designs, ensuring that materials are continuously reused and repurposed.
