Kenneth Cole

“The more I circumvent the rules, the more successful I become.”

“I wanted to make the brand cool again. I needed to make it a little smaller to make it bigger and I needed to change the consumer experience.”

“I've struggled with that over the years: Is fashion relevant? Is it frivolous? Is it trivial? Because I give so much of my essence to it, as do everybody I work with.”

“Rest is overrated.”

“I often say in jest, 'We haven't changed the world but hopefully we've become an accessory.'”

“It is astounding how evolved and progressed India has become. It is holding on to its extraordinary rich culture and becoming global and Western at the same time.”

“There are only so many things we can do that make us feel better. We pick up the newspapers and we want to cry every day. We turn on the news and we want to jump out the first window, jump in front of the first truck.”

“This is what I wanted the business to be when I started it: a lot of black, a lot of luxurious materials, and modern styling.”

“I never really had long range plans. I take one season at a time, every day at a time.”

“Asking people for money is a hard thing to do. But helping people do the right thing is not hard. So I often call people up and suggest ways they can spend their money to make a meaningful impact, and I don't feel I've asked them for money.”

“Finding a way to make a difference is arguably far more defining than any collection I have brought to market.”

“I've always believed that how you look is a self-fulfilling prophecy: When you wake up, get dressed and look in the mirror, if you think you look good, most likely you will.”

“It's not about me, it's about you, the customer. And if I am effective in making what I do about you, and I can enhance you and elevate you, you will support me forever.”

“I admire other people's clothes but I only wear my own.”

“It's very hard to argue against the message that we all have AIDS. It's not hard to make the case that we all have been affected, both culturally and spiritually.”

“My job, I believe, is to convince you to allow me to be part of your brand. Then when you look to present yourself a certain way you'll come to me, go to our website, and you'll buy want you want in the color you want, in the size you want, for the season you want.”

“We don't just make shoes, we try to stay in touch with the world around us.”

“In the early years I had no real plan. I figured it out as I went, which is easier to do when you don't have a lot of staff and overhead. Back then I believed my job was just to create great-looking shoes. That wasn't true. I learned that the shoes needed to fit, be comfortable, and not fall apart.”

“There are many in the AIDS community who have said we won't find a cure in the foreseeable future. Well, you certainly won't find it if you're not looking.”

“It's hard to ignore the hand that feeds you, and today our communities are far more needy than they've ever been, and governments neither have the will nor the ability in many cases to provide the services that they need to.”