Design Assistant, Mens Retail Leathergoods

Coach is a global fashion house founded in New York in 1941. Inspired by the vision of Creative Director Stuart Vevers and the inclusive and courageous spirit of our hometown, we make beautiful things, crafted to last—for you to be yourself in.

Coach is part of the Tapestry portfolio – a global house of brands committed to stretching what’s possible.

A member of the Tapestry family, we are part of a global house of brands that has unwavering optimism and is committed to being innovative and wholly inclusive. Visit Our People page to learn more about Tapestry's commitment to equity, inclusion, and diversity.

Job Title: Design Assistant, Men’s Retail Leathergoods

Primary Purpose:

The Design Assistant for Men’s Retail Leathergoods will play a key role in the collaborative design process for Men’s Retail Handbags and Small Leather goods. This individual will work closely with the design team and cross-functional partners, contributing from concept through product development to ensure creative vision and design integrity are maintained.

Key Responsibilities:

• Support the design team in executing seasonal concepts for men’s retail leathergoods.


• Assist in coordinating seasonal materials, colors, and hardware selections.


• Ensure design integrity is upheld throughout the development process, from concept to engineering and commercialization.


• Conduct trend research and contribute to the development of seasonal mood boards and design inspiration.


• Prepare and organize presentation materials, including creating boards and assisting in meeting preparations.


• Generate and update color CADs throughout season.


• Develop design flats and technical drawings using Adobe Illustrator.


• Maintain and update design cards throughout the development process, ensuring accuracy and timely delivery to Tech Design.


• Ensure all prototypes are available for product presentations.

Qualifications & Skills:

The ideal candidate will possess:

      •           Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage multiple priorities effectively.

      •           A proactive, self-motivated approach with flexibility in a fast-paced environment.

      •           Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.

      •           A collaborative team player mindset with a keen eye for detail.

Preferred Qualifications:

      •           Bachelor’s degree in Design or a related field.

      •           1+ years of experience in handbag / accessory design or equivalent experience

      •           Proficiency in Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.

      •           Strong hand sketching ability, including flat sketches.

      •           A well-developed color sense and awareness of current fashion trends.

      •           Passion for vintage clothing and accessories.

      •           Experience in a fashion or luxury brand environment is a plus.

This position offers an exciting opportunity to be part of a dynamic design team, contributing to the evolution of men’s leather goods while gaining hands-on experience in the design and development process. 

Our Competencies for All Employees

• Courage: Doesn’t hold back anything that needs to be said; provides current, direct, complete, and “actionable” positive and corrective feedback to others; lets people know where they stand; faces up to people problems on any person or situation (not including direct reports) quickly and directly; is not afraid to take negative action when necessary.


• Creativity: Comes up with a lot of new and unique ideas; easily makes connections among previously unrelated notions; tends to be seen as original and value-added in brainstorming settings.


• Customer Focus: Is dedicated to meeting the expectations and requirements of internal and external customers; gets first-hand customer information and uses it for improvements in products and services; acts with customers in mind; establishes and maintains effective relationships with customers and gains their trust and respect.


• Dealing with Ambiguity: Can effectively cope with change; can shift gears comfortably; can decide and act without having the total picture; isn’t upset when things are up in the air; doesn’t have to finish things before moving on; can comfortably handle risk and uncertainty.


• Drive for Results: Can be counted on to exceed goals successfully; is constantly and consistently one of the top performers; very bottom-line oriented; steadfastly pushes self and others for results.


• Interpersonal Savvy: Relates well to all kinds of people, up, down, and sideways, inside and outside the organization; builds appropriate rapport; builds constructive and effective relationships; uses diplomacy and tact; can diffuse even high-tension situations comfortably.


• Learning on the Fly: Learns quickly when facing new problems; a relentless and versatile learner; open to change; analyzes both successes and failures for clues to improvement; experiments and will try anything to find solutions; enjoys the challenge of unfamiliar tasks; quickly grasps the essence and the underlying structure of anything.

Our Competencies for All People Managers

• Strategic Agility: Sees ahead clearly; can anticipate future consequences and trends accurately; has broad knowledge and perspective; is future oriented; can articulately paint credible pictures and visions of possibilities and likelihoods; can create competitive and breakthrough strategies and plans.


• Developing Direct Reports and Others: Provides challenging and stretching tasks and assignments; holds frequent development discussions; is aware of each person's career goals; constructs compelling development plans and executes them; pushes people to accept developmental moves; will take on those who need help and further development; cooperates with the developmental system in the organization; is a people builder.


• Building Effective Teams: Blends people into teams when needed; creates strong morale and spirit in their team; shares wins and successes; fosters open dialogue; lets people finish and be responsible for their work; defines success in terms of the whole team; creates a feeling of belonging in the team.

Coach is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer and we pride ourselves on hiring and developing the best people. All employment decisions (including recruitment, hiring, promotion, compensation, transfer, training, discipline and termination) are based on the applicant’s or employee’s qualifications as they relate to the requirements of the position under consideration. These decisions are made without regard to age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic characteristics, race, color, creed, religion, ethnicity, national origin, alienage, citizenship, disability, marital status, military status, pregnancy, or any other legally-recognized protected basis prohibited by applicable law. 

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)                                                                                                                                       

Tapestry, Inc. will provide applicants and employees with reasonable accommodation for disabilities or religious beliefs. If you require reasonable accommodation to complete the application process, please contact Tapestry People Services at 1-855-566-9264 or [email protected]                                    

Visit Coach at www.coach.com.

#LI-HYBRID #LI-AS1

Work Setup

BASE PAY RANGE $64,350.00 TO $65,000.00 Annually

Click Here - U.S Corporate Compensation & Benefit