Tapestry, Inc.-owned Coach has announced a multi-year partnership with the Women’s National Basketball Association [WNBA] aimed at championing courageous self-expression through basketball and beyond, with Coach becoming the official handbag partner of the league.
Highlighting the intersection between sports and fashion, the agreement brings on Coach as the WNBA’s luxury handbag brand, with the goal of empowering players and fans to courageously express themselves. The initiative also underscores Coach’s grounding purpose, the Courage to Be Real — a platform meant to inspire people to confidently explore all the facets of their identity.
The collaboration will be spotlighted across key events and moments throughout the season, beginning with the WNBA Draft 2025 presented by State Farm on April 14 at The Shed in New York City. Coach will also partner with and amplify the stories of five WNBA prospects who are bridging the worlds of sport and fashion as exceptional athletes who express themselves with their unique style. These WNBA prospects are Paige Bueckers, Hailey Van Lith, Aneesah Morrow, Kiki Iriafen, and Sonia Citron.
“Coach and the WNBA share a belief in the power of self-expression,” said Coach Chief Marketing Officer Joon Silverstein. “We’re excited to partner with this league, an organisation that uniquely champions individuality, and to support these courageous athletes who are breaking molds both on and off the court, inspiring our audiences to embrace the many possibilities of who they are and who they can be.”
Coach will also become the presenting partner of WNBA Pride—a platform the league launched in 2014, which marked the first time a pro sports league formed an integrated program to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community. In addition to nationally televised games, WNBA Pride presented by Coach will spotlight the third consecutive season of the Pride Is Love limited content series available on the WNBA App.
“The WNBA sits at the intersection of sport and lifestyle and has always championed players to translate what they do on the court into their own personal style off the court,” said WNBA Chief Growth Officer Colie Edison. “We look forward to joining forces with Coach to inspire fans everywhere to embrace individuality, especially around some of our most anticipated tentpole moments, including the WNBA Draft Orange Carpet and WNBA Pride presented by Coach.”
Beyond the WNBA Draft presented by State Farm and WNBA Pride, Coach will be an associate partner of AT&T WNBA All-Star 2025, where fans and players will converge in Indianapolis for the midseason showcase and a celebration representing the intersection of sport, fashion, music and culture.
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Coach: Building on heritage craftsmanship and American style
Since 1941, global fashion house Coach has built on its heritage of craftsmanship and New York style to deliver a complete lifestyle brand for modern lives. Per the website, ‘inspired by the spirit of our hometown, New York City, we’ve built a legacy of craft and a community that champions the courage to live authentically. Today, the same way we care about every stitch that goes into our product, we care about the impact we have on people, communities and the planet. Everything we make, we craft to last with the belief that better-made things create a better made future for all.’
Founded in New York in 1941 by six artisans, the fashion brand grew under the vision of Lillian and Miles Cahn to become the Original American House of Leather. Bonnie Cashin was hired in 1962 to be Coach’s first lead designer. During her tenure, with her aesthetic of color, proportion and quirk, Coach transformed into a modern fashion brand. And, in the decades that followed, opened its first store on Madison Avenue and transformed from a family-run leather-goods company into a fashion house committed, in everything it does, to celebrating craft and authentic American style.
Today, Tapestry-owned Coach is helmed by CEO and Brand President Todd Kahn and Creative Director Stuart Vevers, and retails artisanal leather bags and accessories, ready to wear, watches, footwear, jewellery, eyewear and fragrance. The collections are sold worldwide in 939 Directly Operated Stores, select department and specialty stores, through the Coach catalog in the U.S. and on its official website.
The WNBA
Tipping off its 29th season in 2025, the WNBA celebrates and elevates the game of basketball and the culture around it. The league was ranked by Morning Consult as the fastest-growing brand in 2024, and No. 4 on Fast Company’s list of the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025, on its way to setting records for engagement on social and digital platforms, attendance, merchandise sales and unique viewers across its broadcast partners.
The WNBA’s commitment to societal impact is supported by the first-of-its-kind WNBA Changemakers Collective, a group of purpose-driven companies that have partnered with the WNBA to enhance the player experience, build the brand of the league and players, inspire innovation and connectivity, increase media coverage and visibility, and help drive the league’s business transformation. AT&T, Carmax, Deloitte, Google, and Nike are part of the WNBA Changemaker Collective.
Jasmeen Dugal is Associate Editor at FashionABC, contributing her insights on fashion, technology, and sustainability. She brings with herself more than two decades of editorial experience, working for national newspapers and luxury magazines in India.
Jasmeen Dugal has worked with exchange4media as a senior writer contributing articles on the country’s advertising and marketing movements, and then with Condenast India as Net Editor where she helmed Vogue India’s official website in terms of design, layout and daily content. Besides this, she is also an entrepreneur running her own luxury portal, Explosivefashion, which highlights the latest in luxury fashion and hospitality.
