How a London Fashion Week paint tin accessory will raise funds for charity

One of the most photographed ‘bags’ at London Fashion Week wasn’t actually a bag at all – and has now become available in aid of charity.

London Fashion Week 2025 will be remembered for many things, but perhaps none more striking than the accidental rise of the paint tin handbag. Over four days, COAT Paints’ empty containers became one of the week’s most unlikely fashion accessories.

“Whilst it wasn’t our initial intention, we’ve been blown away with the response to this mini movement. The requests coming in took us by surprise and due to the demand, we’ve made our COAT paint bag available to buy, and we will be donating all the proceeds to our charity partners,” said Rob Green, COAT Co-Founder.

What started as a handful of models carrying empty paint tins as a sustainability statement quickly snowballed into a cultural moment.

“Watching this unfold has been fascinating. People took something they’d normally throw away and turned it into a symbol of something fashion often isn’t – sustainable, accessible, meaningful,” Rob added.

“It’s also all the more meaningful that we can use this opportunity to support Furnishing Futures, who help create fully furnished homes that give hope and dignity to women and children placed in empty social housing after domestic abuse.”

The phenomenon that first emerged during London Fashion Week tapped into broader conversations about fashion’s relationship with consumption. While designer handbags can cost thousands, the COAT ‘bags’ were containers originally destined for COAT’s closed-loop recycling system. The tins are made from infinitely recyclable metal, produced with zero waste, and designed to last, making them an unlikely but impactful fashion statement.

Against London Fashion Week’s backdrop of new collections and must-have items, the paint tin carriers were making a different statement entirely: what if the boldest accessory was something that was made to last forever?

The movement also celebrated circularity in its purest form. COAT’s containers, designed for the brand’s signature made-to-order paints, were getting a second life before heading back into the recycling loop, and are now available for a good cause. The movement was aimed at becoming Fashion Week’s most literal example of circular design – functional, beautiful, and entirely waste-free.

“There’s something powerful about taking an everyday object and reimagining its purpose,” added Rob Abrahams, COAT Co-Founder. “These tins tell a story about thoughtful consumption, about choosing quality over quantity, about respecting what we already have rather than always reaching for something new.”

The stylish COAT bags are now available online from coatpaints.com/tinbag.

All proceeds from purchases will be donated to COAT’s official partner charity. Furnishing Futures, furnishingfutures.org.