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At the Coach show during New York Fashion Week on Thursday — which celebrated 10 years under the creative direction of Stuart Vevers — there was a moment of pure confusion. One minute, black leather moto boots, pastel dog-bone shaped handbags and leather lingerie were making their way down the runway — not the essence of the deeply American brand, but certainly its modern incarnation. The next moment, two female protestors wordlessly slipped into the model lineup in the all-important march to the photography pit.
It happened so quickly that there was no uproar. Among a minimalist collection of leathers and trench coats, here was a raven-haired almost-naked woman painted like muscle and bones, with “Coach leather kills” drawn on her torso. Behind her another woman, blonde and coiffed, held a placard bearing the same words with a Peta logo. There were a few gasps, and then it was over, and the Coach runway show continued without comment.
It’s a reminder that leather could be the next controversial Maginot line for fashion. Fur protesters have largely won their battle — few major luxury fashion brands continue to use it in their collections. Jean-Paul Gaultier shows in Paris were once ground zero for protests, but with the diminishing use of fur, those protests have diminished as well.
Peta — one of the most vocal and active animal rights campaign groups — has now set its sights on more widely used materials such as leather and wool. “Today’s conscientious consumers know that the future of fashion lies in innovative vegan materials, not in cows’ sliced-off skin,” said Peta executive vice president Tracy Reiman in a statement on its website following the show. “Peta is shaking up Coach’s catwalk to drive home the message that leather belongs in the annals of history, not in designers’ current collections.”
In Peta’s favour, fashion brands have been waking up to the need to consider leather alternatives, recognising the damaging impact production of the material has on the environment. Coach owner Tapestry is one of 17 global fashion businesses that have joined a new deforestation-free leather commitment. However, finding scalable alternatives to leather that don’t rely on plastics and match the durability of animal leather has not been easy. And production of Mylo — the mycelium-based leather alternative used by Stella McCartney, Kering and Adidas — ceased earlier this year, as funding dwindled, although others such as Mycoworks insist they are on a steady path.
Brands and leather companies have traditionally argued that it would be wasteful not to use leather given it is a natural byproduct of the meat industry — although this has been called into question. As a leather-focused brand, Coach is in the crosshairs of this debate. (A Coach representative did not issue a comment.)
There was no discussion of the incident at the dinner that followed at the Edna Barnes Salomon Room of New York Public Library, where roughly 300 guests toasted an emotional Vevers on his decade at the brand. Vevers scooped up his toddler after the show’s finale and later addressed his guests at dinner. “New York is where I found my family. I want to thank my husband and children,” Vevers said, choking up, to applause. “When I joined Coach, we didn’t make clothes. Now, we have fashion shows.”
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