
Coach Teams With Champion For Capsule Collection
UNITED STATES — Iconic American brand Coach teamed up with another American heritage brand for his latest collaboration: Champion.
Ned Munroe, chief global design officer at Hanesbrands, Championâs parent, said working with Coach had been on his wish list for âa long time,â and when creative director Stuart Vevers reached out, he âjumped up on the tableâ with anticipation at the thought of working together.
He said both companies have a legacy as American brands with a sports origin. Coachâs first bag was inspired by a baseball glove and Champion has been dressing athletes for more than 100 years.
âEvery collaboration we do has to have a creative connection,â Munroe said, adding that there has to be âgreat synergyâ between the partners. âWeâve done collaborations before that have done well, but we were not thrilled with the execution. This is one that will not disappoint.â
Once they decided to work together, the companies did a âdeep diveâ into each otherâs archives. Munroe joked that although Championâs archives are extensive, âCoachâs made ours look like a messy closet.â
The final product is Coach x Champion, a limited-edition collection that combines Coachâs skills in craftsmanship with Championâs athletic apparel roots. The collection, which will go on sale beginning on Feb. 2, features leather bags, leather jogger pants, sweaters and shearling jackets printed with a new logo that blends Coachâs signature storypatch with Championâs C-logo jock tag. âWeâve never allowed this before,â Munroe said of the reworked logo.
But Championâs respect for Veversâ design abilities allowed them to make an exception, Munroe said, adding that he admires the designerâs taste level and what he has done with the Coach brand to make it more modern and youthful.
Vevers said he enjoyed working with Coachâs statement materials such as leather and shearling and infusing them with Championâs sporty elements such as jersey fabrics. He also said that âone of the most fun things to play withâ was the âiconographyâ in both logos and combining them into a fresh, yet highly recognizable, new patch. âThereâs something disruptive and bold about that,â he said.
The partnership also allows Champion to explore âmore elevated product,â Vevers said. âOur styling came from a fashion point of view.â The collection will retail for $95 to $2,300.
The color palette is âvery American,â Vevers said, and centers around red and blue along with âearthy colorsâ such as tan and black that help bring it more into a fashion sphere.
Munroe said he believes the collection will appeal to both the Coach customer as well as the Champion enthusiast seeking recognizable silhouettes such as sweatshirts and coachâs jackets but in elevated materials. âEvery piece feels customized,â he said, pointing to a sweater dress with a leather short, shearling jackets, Super Fleece heavyweight hoodies and âamazingâ crossbody bags. He was also impressed with Veversâ interpretation of the classic Champion sweater. âWeâve never had a partner get it right,â Munroe said, adding that the collection as a whole âprotects the guardrails of Champion but pushes us.â
Photos Credit: Courtesy