One afternoon I decided to listen to some 80s classics which included Klymaxx's The Men All Pause and at one point they mention their Kenneth Cole shoes and I think "has Kenneth Cole really been around that long to be mentioned in an 80s classic?" And the answer is yes and then some.
Back in 1982, Kenneth Cole wanted to unveil his line of shoes during market week at the Hilton New York Hotel but was limited on funds and could not afford a hotel room or show room. He decided to get creative and rented a friend's truck, only to be told it would be near impossible to get a permit to park the truck in midtown Manhattan. When he visited the mayor's office to inquire about a permit he was told there were only two ways people received parking permits - production companies shooting full-length films and utility companies.
What does Cole do? He changed his company letterhead from Kenneth Cole, Inc. to Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. and applied for a permit to shoot the film "The Birth of a Shoe Company." He received the permit, parked across from the Hilton New York the day of the shoe show. Sometimes their was a director and film in the camera, the models were now actresses, and they sold forty thousand pairs of shoes in just three and a half days!
The company is still called Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. as a reminder to get creative and push boundaries.
In the video below you can listen to Kenneth talk about these events along with footage from the "film shoot."
