Bonnie Cashin ( 1915 - 2000 ), legendary founder of Coach ( Coach handbags ) was certainly a pioneer in the fashion industry. She is one of the first designers to create and popularize that uniquely American approach to dress called sportswear.
Bonnie Cashin: Legendary Founder of Coach
At an early age Bonnie Cashin worked with her mother, who was a local dressmaker, and it was here that she was to learn much of the skill set that was to hold her in good stead in her later years.
In 1962 Bonnie Cashin teamed with Miles and Lillian Cahn to launch Coach, a women's handbag and accessories design firm.
The newly formed company was a family run workshop that employed six artisans to design a collection of high-quality leathergoods(such as handbags) using skills passed down from generation to generation. It wasn't long before discerning consumers discovered and began to seek out the unique design and high quality of workmanship found in the companies initial product, the handbag.
As is usually the case, there is an interesting story behind the first creations of the company. Bonnie Cashin, a baseball fan, got her first handbag design inspiration from, of all things, a baseball glove. She was interested in the way the glove aged, becoming more supple with time, and was fascinated by the distinctive markings that were part of the leather.
Taking this idea, Bonnie Cashin refined it by making the leather softer and stronger and ended up with the first Coach handbags. Since that time, innovations in leather finishes, new grains and colors and modern materials all played a part in the development of the highly popular and widely acclaimed product lines of Coach handbags, footwear and accessory creations.
Bonnie Cashin designed Coach handbags for many years. Her design philosophy matched their simple functional lines.
Her classic designs for Coach in the early 1960's were the shoulder bag and what was called the Basic, a smaller clutch style with a removable shoulder strap. The first bag Bonnie Cashin designed, a leather carryall modeled after paper shopping bags, was later discontinued but has since become ubiquitous in the collections of numerous handbag companies.
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