A fashion designer by profession, Kenneth Cole established his own company in 1982 under the name Kenneth Cole Productions. He first introduced a delicate collection of ladies? footwear, but over the years the company was able to produce a variety of fashion products and accessories, including a line of perfumes, for both the national and international market.

The products by Kenneth Cole are distributed and marketed from different areas in the world under three major labels. Included in the list are the unlisted.com, Reaction, and his very own Kenneth Cole label. More than 30 product categories are distributed in these labels, with the most recent addition holding the name, the Kenneth Cole Women's Collection.

This is a first ever company of its type that came out in the United States and is run and managed by Kenneth Cole. Cole has made a massive expansion though, bringing the name and his designs even to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and Amsterdam. He made this expansion by creating a marketing strategy that turned out very effective.

He distributed catalog mails under his name to more than three million of consumers worldwide, and this marketing strategy is utilized every year. He also established his own websites, each receiving thousands of visits per day. It was this marketing savvy tactic that has earned him an image renowned not just by Americans, but also by Europeans and Asians. He, in fact, is known as the forerunner of trends and fashion in today's modern world.

Although very active in fashion designing, Kenneth Cole has also made himself committed to societal movements founded for a good cause. He is a member of a fashion community that takes stand in fighting against AIDS. He has been supporting many other global fights for corporate and personal issues.

What matters most for him is his dedication to provide a part of his marketing budget to support public awareness. Knowing the benefits of the movement, Cole continues to serve the American Foundation of AIDS Research (AmFAR) as a national board member. He is also helping the HELP U.S.A. Homeless project since the year 1987.

Having strong dedication to fashion and philanthropic movements, Kenneth Cole was honored and awarded with the Spotlight Award by the Creative Coalition. He also received recognition from the Amnesty International for the 1998 Media Spotlight Award. The other titles and honors received by him include the following: Humanitarian of the Year by CFDA and Divine Design (1996), Mother's Voices Extraordinary Voice Award, 1996 Humanitarian Leadership award by the Council on Foundations, Footwear News? Person of the Year, and The Fashion Medal of Honor Award by the Fashion Footwear Association of New York (1997).

Kenneth Cole Productions is currently featured on the World's 200 Best Small Companies in America. The company has been featured on that page every year, since 1994 when the company was established.

The Business Week also highlights them as one of the Top Hot Growth Companies in the US. In addition, Cole is continually producing a wide selection of quality fashion products, including perfumes, shoes, clothing, hosiery, watches, eyewear, and luggage, to mention but a few.