Kenneth Cole is one of my favorite designers - if I had all the money in the world, I'd wear his womenswear line, Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dresses and Christian Louboutin shoes - so, I went to hear him speak at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday. He was guest speaker for the PENN Fashion Week. This picture of Kenneth with the students is courtesy of Tony Leonardi at Studio A Photography.
Cole's story was aspirational and demonstrated a level of resourcefullness I would be too scared to pull off. Basically, he rented a truck and parked it at a busy New York City intersection during a Market Week in the 1980s to get buyers to look at his line. It was during the Mayor Edward Koch Administration and the only people who could do that were film companies and construction companies. He became Kenneth Cole Productions Inc.
It worked. He caught the eye of the coolest boutique buyers. And over the years, his company has several stand alone stores and has sales in the millions. He also managed to solidify his reputation as a fashion designer with a social conscious. To learn more about his work. Check out his awearness blog.
But more interesting were the repetition of his witty sayings he peppered his speech with. Here are a few examples:
On Life.
"Everyone needs to grow. If they stop, then they will cease to be."
"I was selling cool ladies shoes, but there are so many cool ladies."
"If you wake up and say you are gong to have a good day, you will."
On the economy:
"These are difficult times right now. We are clearly in a consumer-driven recession. But noone is talking about it. Because if we start talking about it, we'll have a full-fledged depression."
On entrepreneurship:
"Entreprenneurs need to do whatever needs to be done, but not more than has to be."
On compassion:
"If you don't like someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes. If you still don't like them you are a mile away and you still have their shoes."
Who are some of your favorite designers? Have you ever heard them say anything inspiring?
In other fashion news:
Boxer Floyd Mayweather will be at Sneaker Villa, at 1231 North Broad Street from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Old City boutique, Smak Parlour, will hold it's third birthday party this Friday. There will be pink champagne, pink cupcakes and pink drinks. The party will be from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. at 219 Market Street.
Last but not least:
Representatives from custom shirt brand, Rebecca & Drew will be at the cute little boutique, Skirt this Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The company's founder, Rebeccca Winn, attended the University of Pennsylvania where she started alice + olivia with classmate, Stacey Bendet. Rebecca & Drew shirts women's chest circumference, bra cup size and torso height. Skirt is located at
931 Lancaster Avenue, Bryn Mawr, PA 19010. For more info, call 610.520.0222.
