Lilian Cahn
Lillian Cahn (née Lenovitz; December 11, 1923 – March 4, 2013) was a Hungarian-born American businessperson who co-founded Coach New York with her husband, Miles Cahn. Lillian Cahn also created Coach's first line of handbags, which remains the label's trademark consumer product. She had emigrated to the United States with her family during the Great Depression.
Also recorded as Lillian Cahn
Lilian Cahn
- Name
- Lillian Cahn
- Birth Name
- Lillian Lenovitz
- Born
- 11 December 1923
- Birthplace
- Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary
- Occupation
- businessperson
- Known for
- Co-Founder of Coach New York
- Died
- 4 March 2013
- Place of death
- Manhattan, New York City
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Lillian Cahn (née Lenovitz; December 11, 1923 – March 4, 2013) was a Hungarian-born American businessperson who co-founded Coach New York with her husband, Miles Cahn. Lillian Cahn also created Coach's first line of handbags, which remains the label's trademark consumer product. She had emigrated to the United States with her family during the Great Depression.
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In this article
Biography
Biography
After selling Coach in 1985, the Cahns operated a goat farm and cheese-making business in Pine Plains, New York.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Lillian Cahn • Birth Name — Lillian Lenovitz • Born — 11 December 1923 • Birthplace — Sátoraljaújhely, Hungary • Occupation — businessperson • Known for — Co-Founder of Coach New York • Died — 4 March 2013 • Place of death — Manhattan, New York City • Relatives — Mario Batali (son-in-law)
Early life
Early life
Lillian Cahn was born Lillian Lenovitz on December 11, 1923 in Sátoraljaújhely. She emigrated to the United States with her family during the Great Depression.
Coach
Coach
Coach's original line of products focused on men's wallets and billfolds in 1941. It was Lillian who suggested the company branch out into women's handbags. "I scoffed at first," Mr. Cahn told the New York Times. "In New York, there were a lot of handbag companies, and at that time stores were all buying knockoffs of bags made in Europe. But my wife prevailed." Cahn also designed the first handbags, based on paper shopping bags she had used as a child in Pennsylvania. NPR (National Public Radio) called her "the force behind today's high-end leather handbags."
After Coach
After Coach
After selling Coach in 1985, the Cahns operated a goat farm and cheese-making business in Pine Plains, New York. Cahn died in Manhattan, New York City, on March 4, 2013, at the age of 89 and was buried in Pine Plains. She was survived by her husband of 66 years, Coach co-founder Miles Cahn, who died in February 2017 and her daughter Susi Cahn and her husband chef Mario Batali. Cahn was posthumously inducted into the Luzerne County Arts & Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2025.
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reference work
Secondary witness
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 16 August 2026.
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