Kenneth Cole Fashion Designer Profile

Learn about the life, success and style of American fashion designer Kenneth Cole.

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Transcript

Kenneth Cole Fashion Designer Profile Female: Having received worldwide attention for his advertising campaigns and gaining a legendary image by his fashion and trends, is American designer Kenneth Cole Cole founded his own fashion house in 1982 with the line of shoes. However, beginning this empire was not an easy feet. One thing to showcase his shoes at Market Week at New York Hilton Hotel, Cole in the end, had to display them in a trailer two blocks away. Discovering he made it a promise who found out that they only granted them to utilities and production companies. And so Cole immediately changed his company’s name from Kenneth Cole Incorporated, to Kenneth Cole Productions. He applied for a permit to shoot a full-length film, and with this so the beginning of Kenneth Cole Productions and the birth of a shoe company. With his alleged film crew helping out, Cole in two days sold a ridiculous 40,000 pairs of shoes He now designs men and women footwear clothing and accessories and is also a passionate humanitarian. By the mid-80’s he’d become what many considered the first fashion designer to become openly involved in the fight against AIDS; and has eased his creation and sometimes controversial designs as a medium to voice concerns and to show support. In 1997, he was awarded the Humanitarian Leadership Award at the Council of Fashion Designers of America. Cole, however, best known for his shoe designs and socially conscious advertising in the U.S, branched-out into menswear in 1998 and unveiled his first line of men’s clothing in New York. Claiming to project a relaxed urban sophistication, Cole made great use of black and shades of grey and faded the hip length zip from jackets for the casual look. Reaction sportswear is what Cole called his collection for the spring of 2000 as his young male models paraded the clothes on a New York City runway. Cool white was the colour of the day, combined with floral prints on wind breakers, draw-string pants and shorts. His world famous shoes also made it onto the runway, but mostly identical broad strap sandals. Proving he was becoming one of the truly great American fashion designers, he took a large waiting room at Grand Central Station to launch his Spring 2001 collection. Although this show was a little more unique as it combine men’s and women’s fashion on the catwalk at the same time. In recent years, Cole has made the transition from casual looks with soft lines where textures were a mix of suede, cotton, leather, and silk paired casual sandals for men and laced-up Roman sandals for women, to tailored slick lines constructed with luxurious natural fabrics where the look was slightly different than his urban edgy trademark. Muted colours and a lot of skin have taken centre stage as well, as his model made it to the catwalk wearing various shades of whites and browns along with ample supplies of undergarments. His collections over the years have been very American making women look more powerful but also feminine; with basic patterns shapes which is stylish and practical, is clothing for both men and women has become recognizable around the world. Kenneth Cole: The inspiration is very American, very contemporary but yet classic ways of dressing which is where I people are evolving; and very mass, erogenous, kinds of looks again; masculine looks on women but feminized. Female: And pairing his one liner play on word slogans for his charities into his creations and designs, has helped ton his business into the successful label it is today—worked over one billion dollars. And the legendary design of Kenneth Cole is still concentrating on producing clothes of good quality that makes men look smart and sophisticated; and women dazzling and sensational.