This year the New York-based leather goods company, Coach, is celebrating its 75th birthday. To commemorate the occasion, the brand is pushing to establish itself as a well-respected American fashion house with the launch of its Coach 1941 collection and by breathing fresh life into its flagship stores—including the San Francisco location. Late last week, Coach opened the stunning, newly renovated boutique on “Coach Corner,” the cross section of Post and Grant Streets where the luxury handbag and leather goods maker has occupied a storefront for the past 30 years.
Although no expansion was made, the new Coach seems bigger and brighter. Walk in and you feel as if you’re in a chic loft in Brooklyn: it’s all high ceilings, chrome shelves, dark wood details, and plush graphic carpets. The space is both feminine and masculine, also—airy, open, and inviting. There are two entrances to the store, one on Post that leads to the women’s handbags and another on Grant that opens up to the men’s backpacks, belts, and wallets. Downstairs Coach lovers will find the ready-to-wear and shoe collections with pretty flowy printed frocks, sumptuous bomber jackets, cheeky sweaters with embroidered dinosaurs, cushy high-top sneakers, and sturdy wooden wedged heels.
There is much to love about creative director Stuart Vevers designs: his pieces are luxurious, but playful, bohemian, but sophisticated. Vevers good-spirited aesthetics can also be seen in two recent collaborations on display at the new Coach. The first is Coach x MLB, a limited edition men’s collection that showcases the teams of Major League Baseball. Diehard Giants fans can get special Coach keychains, wallets, and paperweights with the signature orange and black SF logo. Disney lovers will go nuts for the second collab, Disney x Coach, a just-released project that celebrates the American pop-icon, Mickey Mouse. Sketches, created by Disney animators specifically for Coach, are featured on leather bags and T-shirts.
However, the most notable difference of the remodel is the craftsmanship bar that commands the space between the men’s and women’s leather collections. It is the brand’s first West Coast craftsmanship bar vitrine which treats customers to a unique experience unlike any other Coach store on the left side of the U.S. Personalized leather services offered at the bar include monogramming, care and cleaning, and repair. An expert leather specialist, outfitted in a deluxe leather apron, staffs the bar, which also displays vintage one-of-a-kind Coach purses from the 50s, 60s, and 70s. This haute new craftsmanship bar ensures that Coach will occupy its downtown corner for many more years to come.
