by Lily S

Created on: July 19, 2010

Coach leatherware was founded in 1941 in a New York City loft - the company was originally called Manhattan Leather Bags, and they specialised in making soft supple bags from the same type of tan leather found in baseball gloves.  But the big breakthrough came  when Bonnie Cashin joined the firm in 1961. She was an established fashion designer, and it was she who introduced the trademark brass or silver toggle fastenings on the bags. Her designs from the 1960's were incredibly modern and functional - one of the early 1960's Coach handbag was modelled on paper shopping bags - it was designed to be capacious with lots of room to store things. This design innovation was combined with processing and technical innovations to make leather strong and durable (so they didn't need to use other materials such as cardboard in the bags).

By 1963, things were going so well, they started advertising the handbags (the very first advert was in "The New Yorker"). In the 1970's they continued to innovate, making modern bags that were completely different to the stylized output from other fashion houses. The soft unstructured "duffel sac" was launched in this period.  

In 1981, they had opened the first Coach Store on Madison Avenue, New York City, (prior to this, their bags had been sold only in department stores).  The company expanded rapidly in the booming 1980's, with Coach opening stores in major cities around the world, including Tokyo. 

In the 1990's Coach decided to diversify and launched clothing (coats and outerwear) as well as a luxury watch collection for men and women. The company had been bought by Sara Lee in 1985, but in 2000, it was floated on the stock exchange as a stand-alone luxury brand. The expansion continued - Coach entered the luxury sunglasses and optical wear market, and also produced knitwear and jewellry. The first Coach fragrance was launched in 2007, and they now have a menswear store in New York.

Coach handbags remain a favourite, especially with the markets of the Far East (which Coach caters to via flagship stores in Hong Kong and Shanghai).

In 2011, Coach will celebrate their 70th anniversary, and the company shows every sign of continuing success in the luxury goods business. Despite the diversification, the main focus continues to be luxury and mid-market handbags, with new twists being introduced every year.  

Learn more about this author, Lily S.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.