6 posts tagged "Kenneth Cole"
amfAR Takes the Battle to Tribeca
HBO’s forthcoming documentary The Battle of amfAR won’t air until December, but its debut screening at the Tribeca Film Festival last night certainly managed to draw a crowd, with Uma Thurman, Harry Belafonte, and Fern Mallis all coming out in support. Mallis—a founding board member of Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS—told Style.com that she remembered giving amfAR one of DIFFA’s first grants, back in the eighties, to buy a refrigerator. These days, amfAR can afford its own iceboxes. It’s also evolved into one of the world’s leading funders of AIDS research, and the charity’s work and donations have made many new therapies available. And, of course, it’s amassed an impressive roster of celebrity endorsers—heck, Sarah Jessica Parker chaired its New York City gala in February.
But one mustn’t forget amfAR’s first famous patron, Dame Elizabeth Taylor. The Battle of amfAR chronicles Taylor’s work with clinician Dr. Mathilde Krim in mobilizing during the early days of HIV. In the film’s opening moments, Taylor addresses a congressional committee on the burgeoning AIDS crisis. In a voice-over, the late actress explains that she watched as, one by one, her friends grew ill. “And so I thought, Bitch, do something!”
After the film, Kenneth Cole moderated a Q&A with Krim and amfAR CEO Kevin Frost. Krim, now 86, received a standing ovation as she took the stage. Cole asked if she has ever felt hopeless in what seems to be a never-ending battle. Said Krim: “No. I’ve never felt like throwing in the towel. From the very beginning, my feelings, my anxieties, my hope are the same as they are today. Is that a good answer?”
The Split-Second Preview: Kenneth Cole Collection
As we enter into a month of fashion shows, we’ve asked some of this season’s biggest stars and most anticipated new talents to offer a sneak peek. Naturally, it’s a busy time for everyone—designers and fashion watchers alike—so we’re pioneering the split-second preview: tweet-length previews at 140 characters or less. To view all of our Fall ’13 previews, click here.WHO: Kenneth Cole Collection
WHERE: New York, NY
WHEN: Thursday, February 7
WHAT: “Urban Liberation.” —Kenneth Cole, on his Fall ’13 collection, which, it should be noted, marks his return to the runway after a seven-year hiatus. The designer sent us a sketch, left.
Kenneth Cole’s Charitable Return to the Runway
After a seven-year hiatus, Fall ’13 marks Kenneth Cole’s much-anticipated return to the runway. And he’s using his NYFW presence to do some good. This season, the February 6 amfAR (Foundation for AIDS Research) gala will serve as fashion week’s official kickoff. And Cole, who has been an AIDS activist for twenty-seven years and currently serves as the charity’s chairman, has teamed up with Sarah Jessica Parker to create twenty limited-edition amfAR clutches. “It’s the ultimate women’s evening bag,” explains Cole, noting that SJP has become a friend and collaborator in regards to the amfAR initiative. The black snakeskin clutch is big enough to carry “everything you need, but no more,” and includes a wallet designed to hold a mirror, credit cards, your mobile, and, of course, a condom. “It suggests the importance of looking good and, at the same time, being safe,” says Cole of the bag, which will feature inscriptions of Parker’s name and the phrase “We’re all potential carriers” on its gunmetal frame. One bag will be auctioned off at the amfAR gala, along with a special SJP experience. (The exact nature of that experience is still TBD, but Cole hints it could be dinner.)
A version of the $1,000 bag (all of the proceeds from which will go to amfAR) will also feature in, and be sold live during, the designer’s February 7 runway show, which will be broadcast across various social-media platforms. As for his return to the runway, Cole says “I’m excited to be doing it in a way that offers people a unique experience. You can be in the front row wherever you are, and, hopefully, enthusiastically be a part of it.” But Cole also asks for his fans’ help—every time an @KennethCole follower tweets with #KCRunway, the designer will donate $1 to amfAR.
The Latest Ad Campaign Of Note: No Models, No Clothes
Kenneth Cole is a man with a fashion label, but he’s also a man with a megaphone: He’s never been shy about using his ad campaigns, especially outdoor billboards, to get his message across, and left the shoes to the shoe stores. (He was a pioneer of raising AIDS awareness, among other causes.) Here’s his latest, which is going up as we speak over New York’s West Side Highway. To see the alternate version that would have gone up in the case of a Romney victory, follow @KennethCole.
World AIDS Day 2010:
What You Can Do (And Buy) To Help
December 1 marks World AIDS Day, dedicated to raising awareness and funding to fight the disease, and the fashion industry has stepped up to help. This morning, designer (and amfAR chairman) Kenneth Cole—joined by Liza Minnelli, Cheyenne Jackson, and Project Runway competitor Mondo Guerra—rang the bell at the New York Stock Exchange, to commemorate the occasion. Celebs-turned-designers Kim Kardashian and Justin Timberlake and style icon Lady Gaga are among the many signing off of Twitter and Facebook until $1 million is raised for Alicia Keys’ Keep a Child Alive charity—a worthy gesture, even if the ads proclaiming “Kim Kardashian Is Dead” are a little macabre.
Looking for a way to help? As Michael Kors reminded us in our video, donating to God’s Love We Deliver—an organization which delivers meals to homebound people with HIV and AIDS—is a great way to show support at the holidays. (Click here for more information and to donate.) There are also plenty of things to buy. Giles Deacon’s collaboration with Happy Socks ($110, www.happysocks.com) goes on sale here today—at least 25 percent of the proceeds will go to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. If music’s more to your taste, pick up the hipster-endorsed Dark Was the Night album ($13.28, www.amazon.com), with contributions from fashion favorites Cat Power, Arcade Fire, Feist, David Byrne, and more—the Red Hot Organization, which sponsored the album, announced today that it has so far donated $1,000,000 to AIDS-related organizations. Finally, if you’re still feeling the classics, there’s always Maison Martin Margiela’s AIDS awareness tee, a staple of the house’s collections since 1994. You can get the standard version, a V-neck printed with the slogan “There Is More Action to Be Done to Fight AIDS Than to Wear This T-Shirt but It’s a Good Start,” at Margiela stores today; proceeds go to the French nonprofit AIDES. This year, the shirt is being issued in a special new style: in Japanese (pictured).