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 Don't yawn at the sight of another picture of Reed Krakoff, the
executive creative director of Coach. True, the guy gets more
press than Demi and Ashton, but he has turned the stodgy American
brand favored by New Canaan, Conn., housewives and
briefcase-toting free-lance writers into a global fashion status
symbol. In fiscal year 2003 alone, Coach profits were up 67%. And
while the rest of the retail industry was struggling with the
effects of SARS, war in Iraq and unemployment, Krakoff was
catapulting Coach from a half-a-billion-dollar company to a
projected $1.1 billion company in 2004.
How did a 39-year-old Parsons grad from Weston, Conn., come up
with a plan to transform functional bucket bags into sexy totes
with names like the Slim Soho? He had pretty good training: five
years at Ralph Lauren in design and then another three at Tommy
Hilfiger, where he eventually became chief marketing officer.
"I also have a really weird way of working," says Krakoff,
lounging on the couch of his loftlike all-white office on
Manhattan's West 34th Street. "I never procrastinate. Everything
is really fluid, and I'm open to being inspired by anything. If
you wait for the right idea, it doesn't get done." For example,
while preparing an "inspiration board" covered with gloves—a big
trend this fall—Krakoff suddenly had an idea for a scarf print
of a drawing of many different styles of gloves, which then
morphed into a still-life idea for an ad campaign. "Each idea
furthers itself," he says.
When Coach CEO Lew Frankfurt hired Krakoff six years ago, he gave
him total creative control to oversee everything from store
design and merchandising to, well, glove design. Krakoff set
about hiring big-gun photographers such as Mario Testino, Mikael
Jansson and Peter Lindbergh to shoot the ad campaigns, and then
he redesigned all the Coach stores. "The first two years were
kind of rocky," he admits. "I had no idea what I was getting into
when I started." Now Krakoff has hit his stride, specifically
with a series of best-selling handbags, including the Hampton
tote and, more recently, the Soho duffel and the Slim duffel,
which sold 50,000 units last year. His latest creation, the Slim
Soho, is projected to sell 100,000 units this fall at $188 each.
Krakoff's goal is to change the perception of Coach, a company
known for its excellent quality, from a replenishment
business—supplying a product that people buy because they need
it—to a fashion business, which is based on shoppers' desire.
"We're not flashy or trendy, but we still have to surprise
people," he says. "People have to really be enchanted by what
they see." Otherwise, he would just bag it. —By Kate Betts
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