Cole Haan will introduce its first women’s apparel collection, marking the brand’s entry into the golf category. The introduction builds on the momentum of its men’s golf apparel launch earlier this year.
The women’s golf collection blends elevated style with technical performance, offering pieces that move easily from the course to the office, travel and weekend plans. Rooted in Cole Haan’s “course to everywhere,” philosophy, the collection reflects the evolution of golf from a traditional sport into a broader lifestyle category.
The collection launches Thursday and has retail prices ranging from $98 to $218. The line features four-way stretch fabrics and moisture-wicking technology, breathable construction and weather-resistant finishes.
Among the key pieces are a women’s transit windbreaker ($218), a lightweight, weather-resistant layer designed for movement with a structured silhouette and adjustable fit, available in three colorways. There’s also a women’s topspin polo ($99), with breathable four-way stretch and moisture-wicking fabric available in five colorways; a women’s spin sleeveless polo ($98), with four-way stretch and moisture-wicking fabric available in two colorways, and a women’s Grand Ambition Skort ($128), a versatile A-line skort with built-in-shorts, available in two colorways.
Some golf shifts from Cole Haan.
Courtesy image
The brand is targeting wholesale accounts at top golf clubs across the U.S., in addition to PGA Super Store, Worldwide Golf, Golf Galaxy, Amazon, Nordstrom, Zappos, Macy’s and Simon.
Jeanine Farucci, vice president of global brand marketing at Cole Haan, said they decided to enter women’s apparel through the golf category because of the success they were having with a men’s golf line that was introduced this past spring.
“We started with men’s and really we saw a great amount of success with that. It’s early days of course. But there’s always been a desire for us to offer a head to toe, or toe to head, as we say, full offering for our customer, and our consumer has really always over-indexed in club sports, and golf always rose to the top of that,” Farucci said.
“I’m personally really excited to bring this to our female customer now. There’s really been an appetite to expand further the lifestyle assortment for her,” she said.
The company has always offered outerwear, which has been available at the Cole Haan retail stores. “We’re going to have the digital exclusive for this golf apparel and also distribute it through our really key premium golf outlets and wholesalers.”
Farucci said the focus is on performance and style together.
Cole Haan golf apparel.
Courtesy of Cole Haan
“Each piece was created for her with the same kind of innovative thinking that we apply to our footwear,” she said. “There’s a shared DNA from a design ethos standpoint.”
She said they’re using motion at the highest level, such as lightweight, moisture wicking, stretch enhanced fabrics and style. “We focused on tailored fits and refined silhouettes, so it has a feminine but polished aesthetic. You could wear it on the course, and then you can wear it everywhere after,” she said.
She said the company filed for a golf patent even before they were thinking of making golf shoes. “[Golf shoes] have been a very big part of our customers’ lifestyle and always felt like a very organic extension of the Cole Haan lifestyle,” she said.
She said the golf apparel will have some subtle Cole Haan branding. When asked about extensions into tennis, she said some of these looks can be worn for tennnis, but they’re thinking tennis might be the next category. “We don’t make performance tennis shoes, but tennis-inspired ones. We hear people use them for pickleball,” she said.
Some golf looks from Cole Haan.
Courtesy of Cole Haan
They will likely add knitwear down the road. “This is the first foray into this category, and I think our intention is to really learn and see what she resonates with. But I can imagine some of these more lifestyle-driven pieces, like knitwear, will probably make their way” into the eventual collection.
While she declined to give a first-year sales expectation, Farucci said, “We’re hoping to get very close to our men’s category.” She said they’ve been seeing strong results with the men’s golf line. “We had a wider assortment, but great feedback so far,” she said.
“Obviously we’re very focused around footwear, but our intention is to grow a full Cole Haan lifestyle, and this was a no-brainer as a next step,” she said.
She said Cole Haan has been in the women’s category for almost 50 years, “so she’s really been a part of our story for almost half our lifespan. So how we sort of connect to her and find additional ways to show up in her life is this next step.”
Cole Haan was established in 1928 in Chicago by founding partners Trafton Cole and Eddie Haan.
Farucci said they hope to do a regular women’s sportswear collection someday.