Coachtopia Is Your Answer To A Circular Fashion Utopia
The sustainability-focused and circular sub-brand from American fashion house Coach has arrived in Singapore. Here’s everything you need to know about it.
Waste not, want not: that’s the spirit behind Coachtopia, the new sustainability-focused sub-brand from American fashion house Coach. Launched in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom earlier this year, the label has finally made its way to Singapore, where it is stocked at the Coach Play Singapore Shophouse on Keong Saik Road.
All Coachtopia products are designed to have minimal environmental impact as well as a future, reusable life. That means every piece of design factors in whether the styles can be crafted from recycled and upcycled materials; and whether, at the end of a product’s life, it can be taken apart and remade into something new.
Coachtopia is exclusively stocked at the Coach Play Singapore Shophouse (above) on Keong Saik Road.
This sustainable model is made possible by the leather craftsmanship that Coach is famous for, as well as the fact that Coach has already been making strides in circularity. Just take, for instance, the Coach (Re)Loved Program that was first launched in 2021 for selected markets. The initiative, which sees the brand taking in used Coach bags to restore, upcycle, or even reimagine into one-of-a-kind creations is also now available in Singapore.
The bags at Coachtopia are either made from 'Coachtopia leather;' which are plain leather designs composed of at least 50 per cent recycled materials or 'Upcrafted leather' which features scrap leather that has been given a new lease of life.
Coachtopia takes a different approach – and it’s an ingenuity that has taken the company two years to develop. Its creative director Stuart Vevers said in a statement: “We were inspired by our shared desire to do better for the planet by inventing new circular ways of dreaming, designing and creating.” Vevers also described Coachtopia as a “design in reverse” process which starts with circularity before anything else.
The Coachtopia collection comprises a genderless mix of bags, accessories and ready-to-wear and made from recycled, repurposed and renewable materials. The most notable is, naturally, leather. Coachtopia leathers are either upcrafted from unused materials from Coach's own production or made using at least 50 per cent recycled leather scraps from tanneries. The former results in fun finishes like patchworked or woven leathers, and even a new technique dubbed Upcrushed where pieces of leather are heated and pressed together to create a terrazzo-like look and texture.
Brooklyn-based artist Sabrina Lau, who is part of the Coachtopia beta community and known for her whimsical and trippy graphics, is the debut collaborator with the brand. Her contribution to the designs come in the form of the illustrations of cherrys and the squiggly, cloud-like typography.
And when something has reached the end of its life cycle, Coachtopia is committing to taking back every product to continue reusing and remaking it with its materials. Every bag, wallet and piece of clothing will come with a unique NFC-accessible digital passport that offers transparency into the materials, design and environmental impact. It’ll also let you follow a product’s journey as it gets repaired, restored and reinvented into a different form.
If this all sounds to you like it’s made for eco-conscious digital natives like Gen Zers, you’d be right. Coachtopia leans into a forward and future-looking perspective and was built as a community-driven brand. For starters, it has roped in a beta community (on a Slack channel, no less!) of fashion enthusiasts, creatives, entrepreneurs, activists and more who collaborate with the brand.
Which is cool because it’s not just throwing stuff at Gen Z to see what sticks, it actually gives these voices a platform to make a change. Now isn’t that a future we all want to see? Ahead, we present some of the buys you can look forward to from Coachtopia. Click here to browse more items from the brand.
To mark the launch of Coachtopia in Singapore, the Coach cafe in Coach Play Singapore Shophouse on Keong Saik Road is launching a special dessert menu, which is available from 6pm.
Additionally, Coach is teaming up with eco-friendly lifestyle brand Brambe to conduct a coaster making workshop that uses Jesmonite mixture and terrazzo flakes made using shredded plastic waste from beach cleaning at the Workshop space on Level 3. This activity will be open to the public on August 10, 12, 17, 19, 24 and 26, from 12pm to 6pm. Click here to register for a slot.
The easygoing Ergo shoulder bag is one of Coachtopia’s key styles. It’s a reimagination of an archival ‘90s silhouette, retooled for a more circular future. This version comes in Coachtopia leather, which is made from at least 50 per cent recycled leather scraps that would otherwise be sent to landfills.
The checkerboard is one of Coachtopia’s key Upcrafted leather designs. It’s made by sewing together squares of scrap leather left over from the production of Coach leather goods, and turned into something fresh.
The Wavy Dinky bag’s silhouette comes from a 1973 design, albeit updated for Coachtopia. Spot the removable chain strap, hang tag and turn lock clasp made from recycled resin; as well as the Upcrafted bindings (the piping around the bag’s frame) made from Coach leftover materials.
Proof that Coachtopia leather’s got the range. This shoulder bag is printed with the peppy illustrations of Brooklyn-based artist Sabrina Lau.
This upcycled Wavy Dinky is about as pricey as Coachtopia gets – and it still clocks in under a thousand! It’s got all the brand’s bells and whistles: Upcrafted leather on the outside and leather hangtag, recycled Coachtopia leather on the lining and strap, recycled resin on the chain and turnlock clasp, and repurposed leather on its bindings.
This three-in-one style is as handy as it is sustainable. Wear it as a crossbody, shoulder or belt bag – using either the Coachtopia leather belt strap or fully recycled polyester canvas strap.
Even the smallest things can make a big impact. Case in point: this daily carry mini that holds essentials like a card case, keys, lip gloss, and AirPods.
This mini wallet comes with a removable shoulder strap and a classic Coach detail – the turnlock clasp. The twist: the clasp is made from recycled resin, which gives it a subtle colourful look.
Sabrina Lau’s creativity graces this tote, which is made from fully recycled post-consumer waste polyester, with leather handle tab details made from recycled scraps.
Six credit card slots and a recycled resin logo, what more could you need?
Mushrooms, they’re good for you!
Sabrina Lau's funky artwork also pops up on this T-shirt which comes with a cropped baby tee silhouette.
Genderless, classic, and good for all seasons. This hoodie, with a Coachtopia logo by Sabrina Lau, is made from at least 95 per cent recycled cotton.
This patchworked design is made from a mix of deadstock fabric and vintage denim.
It’s got a Y2K-inspired wide and straight-leg silhouette, pieced together from deadstock and vintage denim.
Here’s an accessory for the Y2K redux: artfully faded and patched together from deadstock and vintage denim.
Take New York artist Sabrina Lau’s cute art on the go with this bag charm, which can just as easily double as a key holder.
The circular brand’s logo rendered in recycled leather – a cute ‘lil bag accessory.
A cute and colourful set of clips for days when you’ve got your head a little in the clouds.
A playful set of 3M-backed stickers with designs by artist Sabrina Lau that you can tack onto whatever you’d like.