How Coach Became Cool Again

Turns out moms were ahead of the trend.

By Sareena Haq

Graphic by: Sisi Chen

These days, Coach seems to be the designer brand most college students buy from, but it's been a long time since it took the spotlight in the young adult market. For a long time, Coach lacked a central brand image. In the early 2000s, the brand, which was associated with accessible luxury handbags, became linked with logo-mania purses, outlet malls, and something your aunt might carry.

Recently, Coach has reshaped its brand image for a Gen Z audience by using young, up-and-coming faces in its campaigns, creating simpler designs, and building a new brand around sustainability: Coachtopia.

Coach slowly shifted consumer opinions by rewiring its entire brand strategy. In 2013, Stuart Vevers joined the brand and reconnected it to the rise in minimalism. He also connected the brand back to its history as an American luxury brand and its roots in leather craftsmanship. From these ideas, the Coach “Tabby” was born, featuring a structured shape and “C” hardware. It was an immediate hit and brought positive attention and new eyes to a brand that was seen as outdated.

Coach has also benefited from the resurgence of Y2K fashion and trends. What was once deemed aged and outdated, suddenly became cool again. Vintage Coach bags, once seen as undesirable or hard to sell, became sought after. Gen Z was drawn to the brand designs Coach was pumping out under Stuart Vevers, alongside old patterns from decades before, when they were deemed as “ugly.”

The brand has also done great work at connecting with celebrities Gen Z loves. Recently, alongside Charli XCX’s new music releases, she was seen sporting Coach bags within her music videos. In Charli’s “Party 4 U” music video, she wears a black Coach Tabby bag, and in her “Rock Music” video, she wears a quilted Tabby bag, cementing her connection to the brand.

Other notable celebrities adored by Gen Z who have collaborated with Coach include singer PinkPantheress, WNBA athletes Angel Reese, Paige Bueckers, and Azzi Fudd, and activist Malala Yousafzai. Coach partnered with women across all sectors for their campaign to cement the idea that the brand is for everyone. Gen Z star Lola Tung from the hit series “The Summer I Turned Pretty” also became the founding face of their new brand, “Coachtopia.”

Beyond the rebrand, Coach has appealed to younger consumers by prioritizing sustainability. In 2023, Coachtopia began to combat the material waste generated by regular production. Instead of sending fabric scraps to the landfill, Coachtopia uses them to create new items at an affordable price. According to Coach, Coach's leather contains at least 50% recycled leather scraps, while some other materials come from leftover production materials.

Furthermore, the numbers behind Coach’s resurgence in popularity show that it is more than just a temporary trend. According to parent company Tapestry’s fiscal 2025 earnings report, Coach generated about $5.6 billion in sales, a 9% increase from 2024. Additionally, its operating margin rose from 32.4% to 33.5%, showing that the brand not only sold more but also generated more profit relative to sales.

Coach’s comeback ultimately shows that a brand doesn't always need to do something completely different to capture attention. By revisiting the brand's American connection to leather goods and understanding exactly what Gen Z consumers want, Coach made its past feel current again. The bags have slightly changed since their last surge in popularity, but the real transformation has been in Coach’s reputation.