Coach Empire 2024

[SCNicki]

I went back & looked at your pics & agree. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. 🥰

I ordered a Merlot 40 and it’s coming tomorrow. Will report back on the leather. I thought these were all Natural Full Grain and to be quite honest I will be disappointed if it’s not. However if the burnishing is good maybe I can overlook😁Can’t wait! I had ordered a Merlot when first released but my package was “lost” in the UPS warehouse. By that time they were sold out. As soon as it was back I placed the order, have been waiting about two weeks. Shipping delays and then issues with the UPS trailer, etc.

 

[SandraElle]

I ordered a Merlot 40 and it’s coming tomorrow. Will report back on the leather. I thought these were all Natural Full Grain and to be quite honest I will be disappointed if it’s not. However if the burnishing is good maybe I can overlook😁Can’t wait! I had ordered a Merlot when first released but my package was “lost” in the UPS warehouse. By that time they were sold out. As soon as it was back I placed the order, have been waiting about two weeks. Shipping delays and then issues with the UPS trailer, etc.

I’m anxiously awaiting your update!

I should mention that my Merlot is absolutely beautiful and heavily burnished so that’s a positive. I hope yours is from Natural Full Grain - and I feel bad for possibly putting a damper on your excitement. 😢

 

[Schnooples]

Hey @fayden and @wildwest81 - asking this since y’all got your Merlots a few months ago, what is stamped on the bottom?

I got my Merlot just last week and it’s stamped “Genuine Full Grain Leather.”

My Dark Navy and Honey are both stamped “Natural Full Grain Leather.”

Just curious if the type of leather they used on the Merlot changed from the initial offering.

Do you feel/see any obvious difference in the leather? Like is one softer/more supple, or are they about the same?

 

[fayden]

I’m anxiously awaiting your update!

I should mention that my Merlot is absolutely beautiful and heavily burnished so that’s a positive. I hope yours is from Natural Full Grain - and I feel bad for possibly putting a damper on your excitement. 😢

I'd say for me personally, I would prioritize burnishing over the leather but just in this case of the Merlot.

 

[pjfirst]

There’s a definite difference in the look and feel of my “Genuine” Merlot which is smother and less pliable vs my “Natural” Navy and Honey which are more grainy and softer.

This is off-putting for me knowing I spent $750+ for Merlot and the leather is different and qualified as a less quality, less durable leather. Need to decide if I’m going to just roll with it, or see if my store manager can locate a “Genuine” for an exchange.

Funny (sorta) how something like this can derail my whole mood & feeling toward this bag.

Oh noooo I went to look at my Navy that I just picked up and I have the “genuine” full grain not the natural 🤨

Why would they change the leather like that! My navy also barely has any burnishing - I mean I knew it would be harder to see on a navy than the merlot, but still a little annoying

 

[SandraElle]

Do you feel/see any obvious difference in the leather? Like is one softer/more supple, or are they about the same?

Yes, I noticed right away the Merlot ‘Genuine’ had a more structured, less chewy feel than my Navy and Honey ‘Natural’ ones. I posted some pics on the previous page.

Oh noooo I went to look at my Navy that I just picked up and I have the “genuine” full grain not the natural 🤨

Why would they change the leather like that! My navy also barely has any burnishing - I mean I knew it would be harder to see on a navy than the merlot, but still a little annoying

A fellow Coachie believes the first generation Empire was probably closely patterned after the original runway bags in all their Natural Grain goodness. With the popularity of Empire, a switch to a 2nd tier leather was done to keep up with demand.

It’s like ordering a filet mignon and getting a ribeye. Still good, but not the same level of good.😁

 

[wildwest81]

Hey @fayden and @wildwest81 - asking this since y’all got your Merlots a few months ago, what is stamped on the bottom?

I got my Merlot just last week and it’s stamped “Genuine Full Grain Leather.”

My Dark Navy and Honey are both stamped “Natural Full Grain Leather.”

Just curious if the type of leather they used on the Merlot changed from the initial offering.

I was so curious I had to look at my Merlot.
Mine says natural full grain leather.
Mine is pretty smooth and definitely not pebbled. I do have heavy burnished areas on mine too.
I sent my honey back as it has some loose stitches that really irked me. So I can’t look at it for reference. But it was smooth like my Merlot unlike your beautiful pebbled one. My daughter in law has my navy at the moment and is using it for a diaper bag 😂
Strange they would change the leather. I know they are probably trying to keep up with demand but geez 😳
I definitely understand how little things can get to you 🥲. Hopefully your SA can find you one that is perfect!!

 

[SandraElle]

I was so curious I had to look at my Merlot.
Mine says natural full grain leather.
Mine is pretty smooth and definitely not pebbled. I do have heavy burnished areas on mine too.
I sent my honey back as it has some loose stitches that really irked me. So I can’t look at it for reference. But it was smooth like my Merlot unlike your beautiful pebbled one. My daughter in law has my navy at the moment and is using it for a diaper bag 😂
Strange they would change the leather. I know they are probably trying to keep up with demand but geez 😳
I definitely understand how little things can get to you 🥲. Hopefully your SA can find you one that is perfect!!


View attachment 6142012

Thank you for checking yours. I appreciate the extra proof of the change.

I hope my SA can find a Natural grain for me, but it sounds unlikely at this point.

 

[rowy65]

For anyone interested, I happened to stop by a store today to ask about the new Soft 28 that showed up on Amazon and I think dillards and they had no idea what it was or that there was even a new 28. She looked it up and apparently it should be coming later this month

I messaged Coach.com and the response was “due to the overwhelming response to the Empire 28 collection, it has sold out and they don’t expect any inventory”
Sometime I feel the customer or in my case, purse addicts, know more about stock and the product more than some SAs

 

[discreetlux]

View attachment 6141924View attachment 6141925View attachment 6141926View attachment 6141927View attachment 6141928

Admittedly, my pickiness is a curse and an annoyance, even to myself.😁 But for some reason, my store manager loves that about me 😂 and she’s also curious about the leather change. She’ll make some phone calls tomorrow & do a little recon.

She assured me over time & use, the Merlot would soften and grain-up; however, if she can find one in the Natural Full Grain, she’ll order it in & do the swap. Fingers crossed.

I recently returned my Merlot in 40, mainly just because I prefer the 48 size. I just checked some photos I took of the bag before I returned it, mine was also Genuine and not Natural.

The definition breakdown is a bit confusing, because one would think the hand applied burnishing would make it less 'natural' lol. My bag was gorgeous though, still felt very high quality minus a few stitching issues.

I wonder if they received a lot of returns/calls about the natural leather appearing scratched, when it was just the natural variability of the leather and Coach decided to try and make the bags look more smooth. I love these little easter egg finds, I never would have known this since I never purchased an early model.

 

[papertiger]

I recently returned my Merlot in 40, mainly just because I prefer the 48 size. I just checked some photos I took of the bag before I returned it, mine was also Genuine and not Natural.

The definition breakdown is a bit confusing, because one would think the hand applied burnishing would make it less 'natural' lol. My bag was gorgeous though, still felt very high quality minus a few stitching issues.

I wonder if they received a lot of returns/calls about the natural leather appearing scratched, when it was just the natural variability of the leather and Coach decided to try and make the bags look more smooth. I love these little easter egg finds, I never would have known this since I never purchased an early model.

View attachment 6142046View attachment 6142047

View attachment 6141924View attachment 6141925View attachment 6141926View attachment 6141927View attachment 6141928

Admittedly, my pickiness is a curse and an annoyance, even to myself.😁 But for some reason, my store manager loves that about me 😂 and she’s also curious about the leather change. She’ll make some phone calls tomorrow & do a little recon.

She assured me over time & use, the Merlot would soften and grain-up; however, if she can find one in the Natural Full Grain, she’ll order it in & do the swap. Fingers crossed.

Genuine leather = just means guaranteed animal derived. That does not mean that the term 'genuine' denotes a lesser quality of full grain.

Full-grain leather = legal term in itself which means top-layer. The words 'natural' or 'genuine' have no bearing on the 'full-grain' legally - possibly the treatment, but not necessarily. It does NOT state 'Top-grain'.

No hierarchy of treatment is legally defined because that is dependent on too many variables. Therefore, I would take issue with the "impacting...longevity"even "potentially". Every nuance of a natural fabric has the potential to affect "character" and/or "longevity". Depends on thickness, sewing techniques, dying and a million other things.

No-one should think they have an inferior product because the word 'genuine' has replaced 'natural'. In fact 'natural' may have been legally challenged so they changed it. It's just unfortunate that Coach chose to replace one unnecessary word with another (esp. one that is associated with non-full-grain leather.

 

[discreetlux]

Genuine leather = just means guaranteed animal derived. That does not mean that the term 'genuine' denotes a lesser quality of full grain.

Full-grain leather = legal term in itself which means top-layer. The words 'natural' or 'genuine' have no bearing on the 'full-grain' legally - possibly the treatment, but not necessarily. It does NOT state 'Top-grain'.

No hierarchy of treatment is legally defined because that is dependent on too many variables. Therefore, I would take issue with the "impacting...longevity"even "potentially". Every nuance of a natural fabric has the potential to affect "character" and/or "longevity". Depends on thickness, sewing techniques, dying and a million other things.

No-one should think they have an inferior product because the word 'genuine' has replaced 'natural'. In fact 'natural' may have been legally challenged so they changed it. It's just unfortunate that Coach chose to replace one unnecessary word with another (esp. one that is associated with non-full-grain leather.

This clears a lot of things up, thank you for the insight! My OCD can rest now lol

 

[pjfirst]

Genuine leather = just means guaranteed animal derived. That does not mean that the term 'genuine' denotes a lesser quality of full grain.

Full-grain leather = legal term in itself which means top-layer. The words 'natural' or 'genuine' have no bearing on the 'full-grain' legally - possibly the treatment, but not necessarily. It does NOT state 'Top-grain'.

No hierarchy of treatment is legally defined because that is dependent on too many variables. Therefore, I would take issue with the "impacting...longevity"even "potentially". Every nuance of a natural fabric has the potential to affect "character" and/or "longevity". Depends on thickness, sewing techniques, dying and a million other things.

No-one should think they have an inferior product because the word 'genuine' has replaced 'natural'. In fact 'natural' may have been legally challenged so they changed it. It's just unfortunate that Coach chose to replace one unnecessary word with another (esp. one that is associated with non-full-grain leather.

Thank you so much for this. I’m another overthinker here who went down the rabbit hole of this genuine vs natural change last night and couldn’t get any real clarity.

 

[pjfirst]

I messaged Coach.com and the response was “due to the overwhelming response to the Empire 28 collection, it has sold out and they don’t expect any inventory”
Sometime I feel the customer or in my case, purse addicts, know more about stock and the product more than some SAs

100% feels like that too 🤣
When I stopped by the store and was asking them about it, the SA (who was nice btw) was so insistent that the only 28 were the originals. I had to pull up the original listings vs the soft 28 Amazon listing and do a whole show and tell with side by side pictures and details before she believed I wasn’t just making things up

 

[SandraElle]

Genuine leather = just means guaranteed animal derived. That does not mean that the term 'genuine' denotes a lesser quality of full grain.

Full-grain leather = legal term in itself which means top-layer. The words 'natural' or 'genuine' have no bearing on the 'full-grain' legally - possibly the treatment, but not necessarily. It does NOT state 'Top-grain'.

No hierarchy of treatment is legally defined because that is dependent on too many variables. Therefore, I would take issue with the "impacting...longevity"even "potentially". Every nuance of a natural fabric has the potential to affect "character" and/or "longevity". Depends on thickness, sewing techniques, dying and a million other things.

No-one should think they have an inferior product because the word 'genuine' has replaced 'natural'. In fact 'natural' may have been legally challenged so they changed it. It's just unfortunate that Coach chose to replace one unnecessary word with another (esp. one that is associated with non-full-grain leather.

Appreciate you taking time to post this information @papertiger