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Kenneth Cole Knows What Shoppers Want
By Godfrey Deeny
Photos by Gruber-FWD
New York, Sep 10, 2001/ FWD/ --- Someone should send a score of young European designers over for a
sabbatical with Kenneth Cole, the American designer whose finely honed sense of what the public needs -
and sure-fire ability to provide that - makes him a role model for aspiring talents.
Cole presented his collection Monday in Rockefeller Plaza to a cast of fellow powerful liberals - Karenna
Gore, Andrew and Maria Cuomo and Billy Baldwin. The collection showed his strength: making hip, practical
clothes that are flattering and affordable.
Live excerpts from the catwalk were broadcast on NBC's Today Show, as host Katie Couric interviewed the
designer backstage. Huge crowds massed around the show tent, whose side flaps were opened, allowing the
public a glimpse into the normally hermetically sealed world of fashion.
This season, Kenneth's big idea was playing with the same fabric for men and women. Yes, that suede
shirt worked great for men, so why not use it to make a snazzy women's trench?
Cole is a bit derivative - his leather belts, which appeared to be fashioned out of a man's jacket at
the side but were hidden at the back, looked awfully like an idea Anne Demeulemeester showed three years ago.
Cole will probably also never win a place in the Pantheon of designers. But his take on fashion is always
creative and optimistic. Moreover, his models never look like they have labored hours to create their look.
His look is decidedly downtown but wearable in a score of social milieus.
Other designers may be more groundbreaking, but Cole can distill an idea better than nearly anyone.
Folks wear his fashion, rather than just read about it.
Kenneth Cole Fashion
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