American fashion house Coach has revealed to the public the new design of their fashion store in Salt Lake City. Designed by YourStudio it is unique in its sustainable approach, as for its furnishing was used a recycled plastic material, known as Polygood® by The Good Plastic Company.
The Good Plastic Company’s Polygood® material is revolutionary in the world of furniture design, as well as interior and exterior design. Its recycled plastic panels are made from post-consumer and post-industrial waste, making Polygood® a sustainable surface material.
In the age of sustainability and conscious consumption, the utilization of Polygood® panels in environmentally conscious furniture makes The Good Plastic Company’s mission of repurposing plastic waste into usable materials ever more so crucial. It explains their success working with industry giants like Nike, Samsung, Adidas, Lush, and McDonald’s, and leading international design and architecture firms such as Perkins&Will, MVRDV, Gensler, and MMoser for the completion of over 1000 projects around the world.
This is not the first collaboration between the two brands. Their first project was back in 2021 when The Good Plastic Company helped create a sustainable edition of Coach’s iconic Rogue 25 handbags’ handles for the fashion week that went virtual, due to the pandemic. That distinguished buttercup yellow handbag with handles made from recycled white refrigerators and blue spools was then sported by fashion model Kaia Gerber at Coach’s Fall 2021 fashion presentation.
Following the previous success, their second collaboration is focused on the store’s furniture design, rather than fashion items. Exclusively at Coach’s Salt Lake City store, there are White Lollipop forming cabinetry, trays for luxury wallets, and display pedestals of all shapes. It is here that luxury meets sustainability and proves to coexist.
It is important to mention, that Coach with its rich history of craftsmanship since 1941 is embracing sustainable changes with their own products as well. Key pieces from their collection that demonstrate the brand’s circular approach to luxury fashion are the Recycled Tote 30, with its fabric made from recycled plastic bottles, The Coach Originals Upwoven Leather Coach Ergo Shoulder Bag as well as the Upcycled Woven Leather Field Tote 30 made of leather scraps from Coach’s past collections. Moreover, the leather used by the luxury brand is a by-product of the food industry that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
All things considered, Coach’s Salt Lake City store represents a milestone in sustainable retail design. However, it’s not the only unique aspect of it. The store’s variety of colors and the designers’ choice of incorporating neon was a calculated way to speak to Gen-Z customers. Besides the colorful elements, there is a Coach Create zone that offers customization as part of the co-creation workshop with the brand’s craftspeople. It was designed to make visitors engage more meaningfully with the brand and engage with the space in a more interactive way.
In the Fashion Fit zone, customers will find a circular sofa featuring an open fitting room, giving space to choose one of the iconic Coach’s handbags especially when coming in with friends or family to help them choose. “It’s a space inviting consumers to experiment with their style boundaries, shoot content, and interact with the brand in imaginative new ways,” YourStudio states.
