Best. Monday. Ever: Lil’ Nas X and Coach Pull Off Surprise of the Year for Dream It Real Scholars

On Monday, June 12 at Tapestry HQ in Hudson Yards on the west side of Manhattan, multi-platinum artist, singer, songwriter and Coach global brand ambassador Lil Nas X made a surprise appearance at the Coach Foundation’s annual “Dream Day,” the signature conference of the Coach Foundation’s Dream It Real initiative. Launched in 2018, Dream It Real creates opportunities, removes barriers and supports the next generation of young people to achieve their dreams with a focus on under-represented communities.

Lil Nas X joined Dream It Real scholars from the Coach Foundation’s partner organizations Opportunity Network, Bottom Line, Point Foundation, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), and the Hetrick-Martin Institute at Coach’s headquarters in Hudson Yards for a day of mentorship, networking and professional development. He surprised several students with a styling session with stylist, Matthew Mazur, where they collaborated to put together confident, career-ready looks with Coach pieces from its Dream It Real Closets.

As part of Dream It Real’s mission to support students holistically as they pursue their dreams through scholarships, mentorship and professional opportunities, Dream Day’s activities featured intimate “Dream It Real ‘Real Talks’” led by executives where they discussed their career journeys and topics like branding and digital marketing, and the “Dream It Real Portrait Studio,” where Lil Nas X coached students as they took headshots for their resumes. The day ended with a party for the students where they met with the Coach teams and their Dream It Real mentors, a cohort of Coach employees who have offered their support and guidance to students over the past academic year.

“Always stand beside yourself,” Lil Nas X told the students. “You are going to be the main person you can count on when you’re chasing your dream. The main person that you have to believe in. Always move forward and stand on your own path.”

Coach also announces today that the Coach Foundation’s Dream It Real initiative has exceeded its commitment of providing 5,000 scholarships to students by 2025. Since the initiative’s launch, Dream It Real has provided resources to more than 150,000 young people from historically underrepresented and marginalized communities globally through its programs including:

• Dream It Real Mentor Program has enrolled 250 Coach/ Tapestry employees from stores, corporate, and distribution centers to mentor 250 first-generation college students receiving 4-year scholarships from the Coach Foundation.
• Dream It Real Closets, a program that provides product donations to inspire young people in the Dream It Real network as they prepare for their future. To date Coach has donated over $25 million (retail value) to Dream It Real Closets and nonprofit partners.
• Dream It Real Teacher Appreciation has supported over 1,500 educators and teachers in low-income school districts with Coach gifts.

“Our goal is to create a more impactful future for this generation and those to come,” said Coach CEO and Brand President, Todd Kahn. “It is wonderful to have a brand ambassador, Lil Nas X, that embodies our purpose and breaks down barriers, helping us to encourage everyone to have the courage to be themselves through self-expression. I am consistently amazed by students and young professionals who have the courage to Dream It Real every day and the drive to make those dreams a reality, and that is what Dream Day is all about.”

Established in 2008, to help create a better future for all, the Coach Foundation has donated over $65 million to hundreds of worthy causes across the globe. The Coach Foundation equips historically underrepresented and marginalized students around the world with the resources needed to achieve their dreams. For more information, please visit https://www.coach.com/coachfoundation.