Exclusive: Chan-Young Yoon and Coach Team Up for Holiday Campaign
The “All of Us Are Dead” actor chats with VMAN on his earliest memories of the label and starring in its playful Holiday campaign
Chan-Young Yoon has had quite the year, with highlights including a zombie slaying stint on Netflix hit All of Us Are Dead and a partnership with Coach, becoming the American brand’s first South Korean ambassador. Now, Yoon is helping the label ring in the Holiday season in style, with a lots of joy, snow, and the help of a few bigshot pals in Jennifer Lopez and Zoey Deutch.
Shot and directed by Anton Gottlob, the “Feel the Wonder” Holiday 2022 campaign sees Yoon partake in a handful of festive activities—flying on a snow-covered trampoline, making snow angels, and unwrapping colorful presents (all Coach, of course).
Fashion-wise, the campaign sees age-old Coach favorites take on new meanings—monogram totes, oversized, utilitarian outerwear, lots of shearlings—as well as new editions like an adorable heart-shaped crossbody, updated versions of the cult-favorite Tabby bag, and more. The styles will be available to shop in store and online, and the brand’s first-ever virtual Holiday store allows visitors to play games with mascot Rexy, move throughout themed rooms, and more.
First appearing in the brand’s Spring 2022 campaign, Yoon embraced the Holiday spirit in full force this time around, sporting a selection of the brand’s most Holiday-ready offerings. His favorite? A Scooby Doo Sweater.
Below, VMAN caught up with Yoon to discuss his connection to and earliest memories of the brand, hopes for the Holidays, that Scooby Doo sweater, and more.
VMAN: You first partnered with Coach for the brand’s Spring 2022 collection, and are the brand’s first ambassador from South Korea. How did you begin working with the brand?
CHAN-YOUNG YOON: I’ve liked Coach since I was young. I liked wearing their leather backpacks or jumpers especially after going to college. There were a lot of offers from different fashion brands for me to be their ambassador, which I’m grateful for, but it didn’t take much consideration for me to decide to work with Coach because it’s a brand I’ve always liked and have worn in my everyday life.
Ever since I was a child I was drawn to American culture. To me, Coach represents values like freedom, respect, and utility–all of which I associate with America–very well through fashion. And I was confident I could emulate those values. These thoughts became conviction when I saw its Spring collection, which was my first collaboration with Coach, and I thought working with Coach had been a great decision.
VMAN: And what has the partnership been like?
CYY: It’s been an extraordinary and meaningful experience. I’ve thought about ways I can contribute to Coach’s future, and the first thing that came to mind was that I needed to learn about the brand itself. And during that process, I started thinking that Coach’s brand motto and my personal mantra align in a lot of ways. One example is “The Courage to Be Real” campaign, I think understanding who you are and loving yourself is the key to living a confident life.
VMAN: Coach has such a strong brand heritage that has evolved over the years—what are your earliest associations or memories of the brand?
CYY: My mother had a Coach bag when I was young. I can still picture the alphabet C and the bag’s turn lock. I remember turning it because I thought it looked cool.
VMAN: How does Coach fit into your personal style and aesthetic?
CYY: I really like how Coach is classic yet trendy. I think having a strong cultural heritage allows those special moments to have a more positive effect, and that’s why it feels more hip when Coach tries something new.
VMAN: And what does it mean personally to be a part of a brand with such a distinct legacy?
CYY: It’s such a huge honor. I’m elated I can work as the ambassador for such a remarkable, amazing brand and I had a blast. It helped me grow as a person too.
VMAN: Next, I wanted to ask about your experience with Coach’s Holiday campaign, which focuses on unleashing your inner child. How do you think Coach’s campaign channels the Holiday spirit?
CYY: It’s a heartwarming experience to recall childhood Christmas memories that you’ve momentarily forgotten amidst living your busy life.
VMAN: Throughout the video, we see you playing the drums, jumping on a trampoline, and more. What was it like on set? Do you have any highlights?
CYY: All those were spontaneously requested by the director. It was a Summer Christmas in August, so it was very memorable to me and the on-set atmosphere was incredible. We put on some hip hop music and danced to it, and everyone would clap and shout whenever a shot was approved. It got quite hot on set but everyone was being so encouraging it helped me work harder.
VMAN: You sported Coach’s latest accessories and outerwear offerings in the campaign. What are your favorite pieces from the collection? Why?
CYY: While shooting I saw this little guy called Scooby Doo for the first time in my life, and he was adorable. I’ve got my eye on that sweater.
VMAN: How does the collection’s pieces embody the playful spirit of the campaign and the Holiday season?
CYY: The collection, overall, was quite warm and cozy. It had strong Christmas vibes because the collection had a lot of items that would make great gifts and made you feel good when you received it. After all, what is Christmas if not for presents?
VMAN: I also wanted to ask you about the Holiday season in general. What do you enjoy most about the Holiday season?
CYY: I like enjoying snow days. On those days I like to go out in the snow and make some snowmen or have a snowball fight.
VMAN: How are you celebrating the Holidays this year?
CYY: I don’t have anything specific planned this year. I have a drama to shoot so I’ll probably spend it on set filming. But I hope I can share the warm spirit with many different people this year.
VMAN: And you’ve had such a busy and successful year with All of Us Are Dead, the ambassadorship, and so much more. As we start to look ahead to the New Year, what are you most excited about?
CYY: I’m happy and grateful to have had such a fruitful year. I’m excited to see what interesting events await me in the next year. I hope I can show all of you diverse aspects of myself based on this year’s experiences.
VMAN: What’s next for you? Can you tease anything you are currently working on?
CYY: I’m working on a drama titled The Delivery Man. [It] is about a young cab driver who begins to see ghosts one day and events ensue from there. The drama is full of mysterious happenings that comes from having ghosts as customers instead of actual people, along with romance, so make sure to check it out!