Coach Launches Rodarte Collaboration In April As Buzz Builds For Kate Spade Purchase

Updated May 8, 2017: Coach Acquires Kate Spade For $2.4 Billion

New York's heritage brand Coach is in the news with the April 14 release of its upcoming capsule collaboration with LA conceptual dreamers Rodarte. The range “explores the idea of mixing textures and the vocabularies of New York and Los Angeles”, combining the very best of Coach’s leather savoir faire with Rodarte’s romantic and fantastical take on demi-couture.

“We love how Coach believes in American luxury and craftsmanship. We also love their incredible archive and the imaging of the brand over the years,” explained Kate and Laura Mulleavy, the sisters behind Rodarte. Stuart Vevers, Coach’s Creative Director, added that the mash-up has yielded a “romantic cool collection that feels right for both houses”. “Rodarte’s conceptual approach to American style was the perfect lens to reimagine nostalgic Coach pieces.” 

Vogue explains: "Though Vevers hails from Yorkshire, since he took on the creative directorship of the brand in 2013 a kind of filmic Americana has roared through his collections and—inspired by what he calls Rodarte’s “freeing, thoughtful, and transportive” qualities—prompted him to contact the Mulleavy sisters.

The result was a road trip.“I loaded up my suitcases with tons of stuff and just headed to L.A., solo,” says the Manhattan-based Vevers. “Something about that Hollywood glow excites me.” The wonders of California, meanwhile, are central to the Rodarte universe. “We share certain references and ideas and see things on the same level, but at the same time we’re very different,” says Kate Mulleavy. 

The stylish desert, is a 39-piece collection of dresses, biker jackets, sweatshirts, and, of course, great workaday bags, born at dinners at such old-school Hollywood hangouts as Musso & Frank Grill and the Chateau Marmont. The Rodarte touch adds 'sequins', feminine whimsy on intarsia knits emblazoned with vintage ads, or pearls embedded in laser-cut leather.

The really big news, however, is the pending acquisition of Kate Spade & Co. by Coach. Both companies are declining comment but analysts have speculated that the price tag could top $2 billion. Previously, the Michael Kors brand and other unnamed overseas companies were said to be considering a buy of Kate Spade, following pressure from activist firm Caerus Investors to consider a sale.