Designer Kenneth Cole explains to Guy Raz his distinction between corporate social advocacy and partisan political messaging across his career.
0:00 / 0:31exact quote · 31.5s
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“I tell people that I'm not political. That my messages are not political messages, they're social messages, or maybe human messages, but they're not social, they've been, they're social messages that have been politicized, but I don't talk about politics. And, I mean, I have on one or two occasions, because I couldn't help myself, but for the most part, I have made a very exerted effort for 30 plus years not to talk about things that I, Or certainly in ways that I thought was political.”
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More from Kenneth Cole
Opinion
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Kenneth ColeJul 16, 2026▶ 4:36Advice Line with Kenneth Cole
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Public markets are completely undesirable unless necessary for business financing
“So being public is not, you know, a desirable place to be unless you need public markets to finance and or run your business.”
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Kenneth ColeJul 16, 2026▶ 3:26Advice Line with Kenneth Cole
Insight
Cole: Shoes uniquely and disproportionately affect how wearers feel
“I often say in the shoe business, everything you wear affects how you look, but shoes uniquely also affect disproportionately how you feel.”
Kenneth ColeJul 16, 2026▶ 9:47Advice Line with Kenneth Cole
Opinion
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“And the wholesale world is getting smaller right now. We're seeing a lot of, you saw what happened with Saks and Hudson Bay to your point. And I don't know if you're going to find a lot of growth opportunities in the short term”
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