So, imagine this: you’ve been around for over a century, known for bouclé jackets or buttery leather bags, and suddenly the world wants to know your carbon footprint. That’s the reality for heritage fashion houses like Chanel and Coach, who’ve recently done something kind of radical (for them, anyway) launched sustainable sub-labels.
Yep. Chanel just introduced Nevold; a quiet, very French new brand that reimagines deadstock and leftover materials into fresh, high-end garments. And Coach gave us Coachtopia, a Gen Z-coded circular label using recycled leathers and playful graphics to pull streetwear into sustainability. It’s giving vintage charm with new-world ethics.
But let’s rewind a little.
Chanel, founded in 1910 by Coco herself, basically invented modern luxury. Coach popped off in the 1940s, positioning itself as the all-American leather go-to. For decades, both brands thrived on newness, seasonal drops, and — let’s be honest — the kind of mass production that built fashion’s waste problem in the first place. But now, as consumer expectations shift and regulations tighten (hello, France’s new anti-fast fashion law), these houses are realising they need to do more than say sustainability… They need to build it in.
Enter the sub-label era.
Nevold and Coachtopia aren’t just greenwashing accessories. They’re actual experiments in circularity, transparency, and creative reuse. Coachtopia, for example, tracks the material journey of every item with a digital passport and designs everything to be disassembled and remade. Nevold, while more under-the-radar, feels like Chanel’s attempt to preserve their DNA while proving that luxury and upcycling aren’t mutually exclusive.
And this matters because big, historic brands don’t pivot easily. They’ve got legacy production pipelines, prestige to maintain, and investors who aren’t always sustainability’s biggest fans. Which is why sub-labels offer them the chance to test, adapt, and respond to a younger, more eco-conscious market without disrupting the mothership. Smart, no?
But also, let’s not forget: these brands are catching up. Meanwhile, independent UK creatives have been doing this since Depop became a verb. We’ve been upcycling jeans in our bedrooms, repurposing curtains into corsets, and turning waste into ready-to-wear long before “circularity” was a buzzword. So while it’s cute to see luxury play sustainable dress-up, it’s worth remembering that starting small is sometimes a superpower. You don’t have to reverse-engineer a global supply chain , you can build a transparent one from scratch.
Still, there’s something powerful about seeing the old guard shift. If Coach and Chanel can change, who’s next? Will we see a Louis Vuitton Lab for circular design? A Gucci Greenline sub-brand? Bottega on a biofabricated leather tip?
Actually, some are already inching forward. Prada Re-Nylon reworks old nylon into new pieces with ECONYL®. Stella McCartney, a long-time sustainability girlie, partnered with biotech firm Bolt Threads to explore mushroom leather. And LVMH’s Nona Source lets smaller brands buy leftover deadstock from luxury lines, a quiet but huge shift in circular access.
But these efforts still often feel like side quests. The real question is: when will circularity become the main story?
For UK creatives, the rise of heritage brands going green is less a competition and more of a cultural validation. We’ve been saying this. We’ve been doing this. Now the industry’s finally listening. So whether you’re building a brand from your studio or eyeing collabs with bigger names, this shift opens doors. It means sustainability isn’t a niche anymore, it’s the new norm.
And if Chanel’s doing it? So can we. Probably with even more edge.