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Sustainable Baddie is a platform for imperfect sustainable fashion + living. 🌎
Whether we’re chasing a boost of confidence or non-verbally stating our beliefs, fashion is an incredible tool to draw out our alter egos (we all have them). Coachtopia is leaning into that concept, introducing a collection of bags that serves as the edgier Alter/Ego of Coach’s flagship brand — one that reimagines style through the lens of circular craft and waste-led design.
I tested and styled the Coachtopia Alter/Ego Satchel Bag—read on to see how it went!
What is Coachtopia?
In case you’re in your offline era, Coachtopia is what happens when a legacy house like Coach decides to take circularity seriously as a design principle. Coachtopia is an experimental lab within Coach, designed to explore and accelerate the brand’s journey toward circular fashion. Designed with Gen-Z and youth in mind, Coachtopia appeals to a new generation of shoppers. Younger people are still figuring out our style and how to invest our money best, so the choices made by new labels like Coachtopia really matter. By embracing waste as a starting point, Alter/Ego makes circularity feel less like a requirement and more like an exciting act of reinvention.
Instead of treating waste as an inevitable byproduct to discard, Coachtopia treats it as raw material. These bags aren’t just made from leather scraps, they’re born from the same leather used in some of Coach’s most iconic styles, like the Tabby and the Brooklyn bags. Rather than letting those leftover pieces go to waste, Coachtopia stitches them into something new, creating “twin” bags with their own unique character.
The first thing I noticed when I unboxed my Alter/Ego bag, besides the buttery leather beauty inside, was the QR code tag on the bag; a digital passport that holds details of its materials, carbon and waste impact, crafting process, and even a button that leads you to Poshmark in case you choose to resell. In an industry where environmental impact efforts from big brands can sometimes feel like an afterthought, Coachtopia feels like a genuine effort to create industry change.
We just met, but I think I love you…
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My first date with my Alter/Ego bag was on one of the warmer days of early spring. I was surprised by how much I fit in the bag: a poetry book, go-mics, a digital camera, headphones, my wallet, allergy meds, and my phone! I was also skeptical about how the shape of the bag would fit under my arm, but she sat comfortably at my side while still holding her shape.
I leaned into the tan color of the leather and styled it with my favorite sheer butter yellow vintage dress layered over a baby blue dress shirt, with tabi sneakers for a Cinderella-meets-woodland creature vibe.
My Alter/Ego runs errands
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My Alter/Ego Satchel is versatile enough for every occasion, including running errands. Instead of wearing yoga pants, a hoodie, and running sneakers to the grocery store, I tapped into the boldness of my bag and elevated my errand fit. I kept my favorite thrifted hoodie on but swapped the sweats and sneakers for a thrifted black tulle skirt and metallic pink and blue Mary Jane sneakers.
What worried me most about this bag was whether the shape would hold up. But after two weeks of near-daily use, she’s still holding strong. In this case, it’s reassuring that creating with waste didn’t come at the cost of quality.
Rain or shine, the Satchel slays
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On a colder, rainier, jam-packed day of early Spring, I leaned into layering, knowing the warmer days were just ahead. Between running around the city for work and meeting friends to scour the thrift store, she once again held everything I needed for the day—and perfectly complemented my outfit. I stuck to natural tones that played nicely with the bag, featuring charms I made at the Coachtopia events with Kissing Cowboys and Mona Gems (obviously).
Final verdict:
At this point, my Alter/Ego has become a wardrobe staple, so she might as well be my regular personality. Five stars.
Our founder and creative director, Jazmine Brown, also got to style her own Alter/Ego bag; check out her fits here:
Who or what is your Alter/Ego?