With unflinching determination, a visionary Entrepreneur & fashion designer continues to take excessive and questionably responsible risks to his business, in pursuit of blunting countless social crises, and igniting unprecedented social change. Kenneth Cole’s relentless commitment to AIDS, homelessness, LGBTQ+ rights, and now, mental health, has given voice to the voiceless, defied and shattered stigmas, provoked conversation, and empowered action for good. With both ‘heart & ’sole’ you will witness the 40 year delicate balancing of the relevance and viability of both ‘the Man’ and ‘The Brand’. The fusion of business and Philanthropy.
With heart & ’sole’ and unflinching determination, Kenneth Cole and his global fashion company, Kenneth Cole Productions (KCP), have put ‘cause’ before ‘commerce’ for 40 years, igniting social awareness and change. Kenneth’s commitments to AIDS, homelessness, LGBTQIA+ rights, civil liberties, social justice and now, mental health, have given voice to the voiceless, defied and shattered stigmas, provoked conversation, built coalitions and inspired and empowered action for good.
But back in the 1980’s, when Kenneth launched his shoe business, corporate social action was anything but business as usual. Only a small fraction of companies had made any social impact commitment whatsoever and no company had aligned their business with the terrifying ‘gay plague’.
With HIV/AIDS ravaging the gay community, Kenneth Cole was losing dear friends to the disease. The world refused to acknowledge what was happening. The silence was deafening. Though many felt the association with AIDS could capsize his new business, Kenneth refused to look the other way. Rather, he used his platform to launch an ‘anti-stigma’ campaign to shatter the silence and prompt productive engagement.
A MAN WITH SOLE has featured at the following festivals:
