I think it is a zipper tab hanging out, like you sometimes see on bookbags when they are not tucked back. Consequently, the mention about the zip.. Have you ever known a Coach zipper to fail in even five years, not to mention five months?
What I'm wondering is if Coach would really use these colors together to make a patchwork... & then to put the neutral-colored patches so close together? It's just so dull... sad... boring... blah...