Coach launches ‘Explore Your Story’ campaign highlighting storytelling and Gen Z voices

U.S.A. – Coach has unveiled its Spring 2026 campaign, ‘Explore Your Story’, a global initiative shaped by insights from Gen Z and co-created with communities worldwide to celebrate storytelling, self-expression, and connection.

Inspired by a renewed interest in long-form storytelling, the campaign underscores a paradox for Gen Z: while immersed in a fast-paced, short-form digital world, many are returning to books to explore identity, creativity, and new possibilities.

Through the campaign, Coach emphasises storytelling as a way to express oneself and embrace the brand’s “Courage to Be Real”, fostering connection across books, book clubs, digital communities, and campus conversations.

Spanning partnerships from the United States to China, Explore Your Story features Coach’s iconic Tabby bag alongside a new collection of twelve miniature, readable book charms. 

Titles include Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, I’ll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson, and The— by Natsu Miyashita, selected for their focus on self-expression and co-curated with Gen Z communities worldwide.

The campaign is anchored by two films starring global ambassadors: Academy Award-nominated actress Elle Fanning, Emmy-winning actress Storm Reid, Korean artist SOYEON, Japanese singer-songwriter Lilas, Kia WNBA Rookie of the Year Paige Bueckers, and breakthrough Chinese singer Shan Yichun. 

Directed by Marcus Ibanez, the films depict intimate vignettes in which reading transforms the world around each protagonist, illustrating how stories inspire courage and connection. The films are complemented by still imagery from award-winning photographer Elaine Constantine.

Coach also collaborated with Gen Z–focused platforms and communities, including Sunnie, a social-first book club backed by Hello Sunshine founder Reese Witherspoon, and China Youth Daily. The brand also partnered with Penguin Random House in the U.S. and independent publishers in China, Japan, and Korea to bring the book charm titles to life and engage authors directly. 

Additional amplification comes through partnerships with the WNBA and Bilibili, China’s leading Gen Z video platform.

The campaign extends into real-world experiences. The Coach Tabby Tour: Explore Your Story Edition will visit college campuses across the U.S., Asia, and beyond, providing a space for students to connect, share stories, and participate in programming. Coach stores will feature “Book Nooks”, allowing consumers to personalise bags, book charms, and bookmarks. 

The Coach Foundation’s Dream Day 2026, themed “Write Your Next Chapter”, will bring together young people from the Dream It Real programme for community-building, mentorship, and story-focused workshops.

Joon Silverstein, chief marketing officer at Coach, said, “One of the clearest insights we heard from Gen Z globally is how central storytelling is to how they make sense of who they are—and who they’re becoming. In a world shaped by fragmentation, digital overload, and constant acceleration, many described books and long-form storytelling as a refuge—a way to slow down, reflect, and feel a sense of belonging. ‘Explore Your Story’ grew from that insight, and from our desire to show up alongside this generation as they find the confidence to write their own narratives.”

Silverstein added, “Storytelling doesn’t happen in silos, and neither does self-expression. We intentionally brought together partners from different parts of culture—fashion, literature, sport, and digital culture—because Gen Z doesn’t experience identity in one lane. Our role isn’t to speak for communities, but to create shared spaces where many voices can come together around a belief in the power of storytelling and the courage it takes to be real.”