Why Coachtopia Embraces Circular Fashion & Sustainability

Discover the people powering change

Aditi talks with KH’s workers, designers and production staff about how they’ve collaborated with Coachtopia on the challenge of making with waste, from collecting and sorting waste in a “leather scrapyard” to shifting mindsets in material design, prototyping and production. Throughout the episode, she not only explores the possibilities of making with waste but uncovers the stories of the community of people powering this change.

Waste is a state of mind

In KH’s “Leather Scrapyard,” scraps leftover from Coach production—which might otherwise have gone to landfill—are saved, sorted and classified in order to be reimagined in Coachtopia products.

“This is coming from Coach and it goes to Coachtopia.” —Tarique Mohd Ibrahimi, Designer, KH Exports

Design needs to work in reverse

Designers Ammu and Priya embrace waste and share how they’ve flipped their mindsets—working backwards from what already exists rather than starting with an idea and creating new materials to fit it.

“I never imagined that waste could be beautiful.” —Ammu Sreekumar, Creative Designer, KH Exports

Craft empowers circularity

At KH, Suat and his team of artisans draw on traditional craft techniques to transform waste materials, bringing luxury’s heritage to meet its future.

“Heritage craft is coming together with waste materials to create a new kind of luxury.”—Aditi Mayer

The waste of the
waste

In the R&D lab, heat and pressure are used to transform scraps into Upcrushed Leather. It’s a technique so versatile that it can be used to reimagine even the tiniest scraps.

“Each panel is individual and unique. That is the beauty of Upcrushed.”—Tariq Mohd Ibrahimi

Undoing a culture of Perfection

When it comes to production, Coachtopia is challenging our cultural mindset of perfection by embracing the natural grain and textures inherent in our leather.

“It’s startling to think that the natural grain of leather can be seen as a defect, leading to more

Circularity takes courage

Radical change can be daunting, even scary. But it’s clear that taking these bold steps—even if they’re imperfect—is helping to pioneer solutions for our circular future.