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Stuart Vevers Unveils His Plan for Coach’s Future

For a man who’s just been given a new job, the detail that former Loewe creative director Stewart Vevers went into when talking to Women’s Wear Daily about his nascent arrival at Coach and what it means for the future of the brand was pretty impressive. Vevers has clearly had some time to consider the company’s idea of its future and how his creative vision fits into it, and we’re feeling pretty excited that it may be a great match indeed.

Vevers told WWD that, first and foremost, he plans to make use of Coach’s leather goods heritage. While that’s not exactly surprising – heritage goods are extremely popular among customers because of the look’s implied luxury – it is right in line with how Coach has gained its most recent success. A more traditional look, mixed with splashes of modernity like brights and colorblocking, has proved key for the brand in attracting sophisticated, high-value customers who may have formerly considered the brand more suited for suburban soccer moms and teenagers. I’m one of those people, and so are many of my friends; although I wouldn’t have considered purchasing a Coach bag a few years ago, I now regularly see simple, fun leather bags from the brand that I’d love to carry. Vevers, with his history at heritage brands like Loewe and Louis Vuitton, is a good match to carry that success forward. Vevers employed that same strategy at Loewe in particular, to considerable success.

The designer’s experience with Paris Fashion Week-approved ready-to-wear will also be useful in hastening Coach’s plan to transition into a full-fledged lifestyle brand instead of simply a destination for accessories. The company already has strategy in place to add more apparel and footwear into its stores, as well as expand its men’s business with more variety and a larger product assortment. Vevers seems on board with that plan, and he also specifically mentioned diversifying the brand’s price point – Coach has dabbled with spendy exotics in the past, but apparently the $5,000 Coach bag will be regularly scheduled programming in the near future. Fret not, though – the interview gave no indication that those bags are going to be made at the exclusion of the brand’s more attainably priced options.

If you have a subscription, check out the full, wide-ranging interview via WWD.

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