00:00in business there was no book especially the fashion business you write your own every day
00:09kenneth cole made a spectacular splash into the glitzy world of high fashion in 1982
00:14he's not one of the designers who started out doing high-end couture
00:20i had no money i knew i was going to figure it out
00:25kenneth was a natural-born showman a natural-born salesman the company was on fire
00:31he's the punmeister of all punmeisters who grabs our attention as much by his words as by his designs
00:39it's part of the dna of the company in those days there was this new ominous black cloud that was
00:46looming over i watched associate david in the office it was a tipping point moment
00:53for me
00:55he started to integrate this cause into his business
01:02the ads that he put out there were shocking do you worry about alienating customers as you make
01:11your political statements people rant and rave and tell me what the hell do i know he contributed
01:16his marketing genius launched a series of provocative advertising campaign he highlighted
01:22look at what we're doing look at us as a society
01:25i was inspired by a lot of people but maybe none more than my wife maria you have to be willing to
01:33get negative response and sometimes it affects your bottom line there are more regulations on teddy
01:38bears and there aren't handguns
01:40some reveal he's taken it too far
01:41just say don't buy the shoes he's doing what he's doing in social impact not because it's good for
01:47his business it's because it's good fashion icon is social activist
01:50for me it's not just what you stand in but what you stand for
01:59there's no chance that anytime soon kenneth cole will be quiet i don't do quite easily
02:08you
02:13you
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02:17you
02:19you
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