Founded in 1941 as a small workshop in Manhattan’s Garment District, Coach was led in its early years by Lillian and Miles Cahn, who started working for the company in 1946 and bought it in 1961. The Cahns’ contributions to the emerging brand were twofold: Intrigued by the way the soft leather of a baseball glove gets better with time—instead of breaking down, developing a rich patina—they created a proprietary process for tanning skins so that they would retain their strength and elasticity; the couple also brought on Bonnie Cashin as head designer, and she launched a retail collection in 1962. During her 13-year tenure, Cashin introduced such practical innovations as turn-locks and outside pockets on her Cashin-Carry bags. By the early 1980s, customers were queuing up at Coach shops in Manhattan and the Hamptons to get their hands on a shoulder bag, wallet, or briefcase built to last a lifetime (which, with repairs at little to no cost offered at the time, they did).
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All images are courtesy of ImaxTree.
