Coach Gives an Upscale Label to Its Runway Line

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For the past three seasons, Coach has been showing a full ready-to-wear collection at New York Fashion Week but this time around, the brand is aiming to make it all a little more cohesive. According to WWD, Coach has officially branded its runway collection as Coach 1941, while the regular store goods fall under the Coach New York label. It's all an ongoing part of the brand's reinvention (that's still struggling to gain traction with shoppers).

"The collection is really building on the work we've done for the past three New York Fashion Week presentations, in terms of the aesthetic and our point of view," Stuart Vevers, creative director of Coach, told WWD. "What we've been presenting within those collections has felt more pushed creatively and a more elevated offering from Coach and we've just never given it a distinct title. We felt that the time was right for that given the interest we've had."

Coach 1941 marks its official launch at the brand's runway show next week, although the line has technically been going down the runway since Coach started showing at NYFW. The show will be broadcast live on Coach.com and one piece from the collection, a new take on the saddlebag, will be available to shop instantly online and in the brand's SoHo and Rodeo Drive locations.

"Coach 1941 will be in our flagship stores and have much more limited distribution that will allow us to speak to the better global specialty retailers with a Coach proposition that is much more fitting with their clientele," Victor Luis, Coach's CEO, told WWD. "The big opportunity for us is at price points that are above Coach, and yet below pricing — but still the value — of traditional European luxury brands."