The accessories collection sees the brand collaborate with a mix of up-and-coming artists, unveiled at spaces in New York and Los Angeles.
Coach executive creative director Stuart Vevers is no stranger to the collaboration train — the past few seasons have seen him work with Disney, Rodarte, and brand ambassador Selena Gomez on a variety of projects. For one such recent project, launched at the beginning of the summer in London, the brand re-imaged its visuals campaign with a host of English graffiti artists. Now Coach is dipping its toe even further into the creative world of art, unveiling the Art of the Signature, a collection of accessories Vevers collaborated on with a mix of new artists. To celebrate, the collection bows with two bicoastal pop-ups, one at the Plaza in New York’s Hudson Yards, and one at Carneys restaurant in Los Angeles.
“My team and I regularly discuss what’s new and inspiring us at the moment,” Vevers said of the artists the brand hand-picked to work with. “We love to discover creatives who have a unique and fresh point of view, and that discovery can happen anywhere, or at any time.”
The collection takes the brand’s logo pattern and layers over top original art work created by a mix of talent from around the globe. According to the brand, each artist was chosen for their “playful, optimistic attitude.” Collaborators on the collection include Marleigh Culver, Gianni Lee and Anna Sudit from New York; Kendra Dandy from Philadelphia; Tyler Spangler from California; Robert Hunter from London; We Are Out of Office from Amsterdam, and Alex Face of Thailand.
“Each of the artists brings a playful contrast to our iconic signature pattern,” Vevers explained. “What makes it interesting is the juxtaposition of an established house code with something individual, new and personal. For our clients, the artists bring a sense of discovery, of finding out something new. And for the artists, who are all up-and-coming, the collaboration brings their work to a new audience.”
The collection of accessories retails from $295 to $450 and uses several of the house’s staple shapes, such as its Charlie Carryall, Riley crossbody and Central tote.
Each pop-up offers a new visual take on the house’s heritage, and will invite customers to meet the artists, play with customization and shop the collection.
The L.A. pop-up runs from July 15 through July 21 and will transform the famed L.A. diner into an experience inspired by the collection and art work.
Meanwhile, the space in New York, which opens July 11 and runs until July 17, features live bag customization by several of the artists involved in the collection, and performances by New York-based acts The BKSteppers and It’s Showtime NYC.
According to Vevers, the space in Manhattan “takes customers inside a special Coach [interpretation of] a New York subway carriage, which has been a recurring visual theme for us and speaks to our home since 1941,” he said.
In addition to the pop-up spaces, the collection will be for sale on coach.com and at several of the brand’s retail locations nationwide.
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