Coach announces that activist and Coachtopia beta-community member Maya Penn and fashion editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson wore custom Coachtopia looks by Coach Creative Director Stuart Vevers to the 2023 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City Monday evening.
Launched in April, Coachtopia, is a new sub-brand focused on circular craft with a mission to advance a circular fashion system. The custom Coachtopia looks were created using in-house fabric scraps from past Coach collections, reconstructed vintage and second-hand pieces, and repurposed objects collected outside the Met, including discarded museum ticket stubs and maps, as well as soda cans and water bottles. These found waste objects were then artfully reimagined into embellishments and iconic Coach codes like sequin paillettes and Tea Rose flowers—created from discarded hot dog packaging sourced from vendors outside the museum, dissembled and rewoven—celebrating the beauty and charm of pieces with multiple layers of craft and meaning. Inspired by the houses’ desire to explore its heritage of craftsmanship through the lens of circularity, each piece reflects Coachtopia’s design philosophy of helping to reduce waste by working with previously used materials and creating from “nothing new.”
Penn’s dress was handmade from leftover silk chiffon materials from Coach’s Fall 2023 runway show and naturally dyed using Dandelion flowers. The ruffles were embroidered with scrap vintage lace elements and the paillettes are made with discarded bike tire tubes, aluminum soda cans and plastic water bottles. The trim was made from discarded VHS tapes acquired from rummage sales and secondhand shops, and the large flower applique was constructed from discarded plastic packaging waste along with scraps of antique lace.
Karefa-Johnson’s dress was created from silk and cotton tulle remnants from Coach’s Fall 2020 collection. The dress is covered with a hand appliqued lace intarsia using scraps of vintage lace. The lace is further embellished with die cut and molded paillettes created from discarded plastic water bottles.
“Both looks for this year’s Met Gala were inspired by our desire to do better for the planet by inventing new circular ways of dreaming, designing and creating by prioritizing progress over perfection—through a cycle of prototyping and learning, and learning from that,” said Vevers. “Referencing 1930s slip dresses and 90s grunge, I wanted to reimagine our heritage of craft by repurposing previously-used materials to create something new and beautiful for Maya and Gabriella—two individuals redefining American fashion for now.”
To complete the looks, Penn and Karefa-Johnson wore Coachtopia Wavy Dinky bags—crafted in regenerative leather—featuring embellishments such as repurposed Coach jewelry and bag charms found in trash cans at the Coach offices, and hand-cut appliqués reimagined from discarded Met museum pins. The looks also featured custom shoes made with scrap black suede and leather, discarded vinyl records, and repurposed hardwood fixtures like antique stair spindles.
In the Philippines, COACH is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Makati, Power Plant Mall, Greenbelt 5, City of Dreams, Rustan’s Cebu and online at Trunc.ph, Rustans.com, and Zalora. Visit www.ssilife.com.ph, subscribe to our SSI LIFE YouTube Channel, and follow @ssilifeph on Instagram and Facebook for more information.
To complete the looks, Penn and Karefa-Johnson wore Coachtopia Wavy Dinky bags—crafted in regenerative leather—featuring embellishments such as repurposed Coach jewelry and bag charms found in trash cans at the Coach offices, and hand-cut appliqués reimagined from discarded Met museum pins. The looks also featured custom shoes made with scrap black suede and leather, discarded vinyl records, and repurposed hardwood fixtures like antique stair spindles.
In the Philippines, COACH is exclusively distributed by Stores Specialists, Inc., and is located at Rustan’s Shangri-La, Rustan’s Makati, Power Plant Mall, Greenbelt 5, City of Dreams, Rustan’s Cebu and online at Trunc.ph, Rustans.com, and Zalora. Visit www.ssilife.com.ph, subscribe to our SSI LIFE YouTube Channel, and follow @ssilifeph on Instagram and Facebook for more information.
