Coach Introduces New Apprenticeship Program For Leather Craftsmanship

Coach introduces the Coach (Re)Loved Craftsperson Apprenticeship Program, a new one-year leather craftsmanship skills and training program designed as part of the house’s commitment to helping create a better-made future through better-made things. 

Created to support Coach (Re)Loved, the house’s circular ecosystem of unique programs in repair, refurbishment, upcycling, recycling and trade-in, the Coach (Re)Loved Craftsperson Apprenticeship Program will teach apprentices the necessary skills to transform pre-loved Coach bags into newly reimagined and restored bags for resale. Under the supervision of master craftspeople and experts at the house’s one-of-a-kind Coach (Re)Loved and Repair Workshop in New Jersey, apprentices will learn foundational craftsmanship skills as well as develop a deep understanding of the lifecycle of Coach bags and the transformative impacts of circular models in fashion. The program builds on Coach’s existing apprenticeship program, which has trained over 400 in-store craftspeople to date in artisanal leathercrafting skills.

Introduced in 2021, Coach (Re)Loved is part of Coach’s commitment to a circular future in fashion grounded in Coach’s legacy of beautifully made pieces, crafted to last for generations. It spans four unique programs—Upcrafted, Remade, Restored and Vintage—that give pre-loved and damaged Coach products a second life as well as Coach (Re)Loved Exchange, a trade-in program where customers can swap eligible pre-loved Coach bags for credit towards their next purchase, offered at 30 pilot stores currently with plans to expand to all 162 U.S. and Canada retail stores in the next few months.

Coach (Re)Loved was created to help keep Coach bags out of landfills and reimagine end-of-life processes in fashion, and builds on Coach’s unique leather services, including repairs, with over 260,000 bags repaired globally for Coach customers in the past three years, and complimentary lifetime leathercare in its Coach retail stores. 

Launching today, the Coach (Re)Loved Craftsperson Apprenticeship Program is currently accepting applications for its inaugural program year starting in June 2022. 

Learn more and apply for the Coach (Re)Loved Craftsperson Apprenticeship Program here.

Learn more about Coach (Re)Loved here.

Shop Coach (Re)Loved here.