The name Kenneth Cole was not heard of until 1982 when the young fashion designer launched himself and his brand on the shoe buying public. The Kenneth Cole story is one of resourcefulness and innovation.

Knowing that he had not enough capital to start his shoe company, or the backing of American banks, he enlisted Italian shoe manufacturers to finance his initial shoe production. He then went about selling the initial run of shoes by parking a forty foot trailer in front of the shoe convention in New York. In order to get permission to park the semi trailer on the streets, Cole created himself into a film production company, and set about making a documentary film, The Birth of a Shoe Company. Under this guise Cole was able to get permits from City Hall to park his trailer. 40,000 pairs of shoes were sold in two and a half days and the brand Kenneth Cole had successfully been launched.

The brand Kenneth Cole now encompasses much more than shoes, including handbags, apparel, eyewear and of course watches. Cole has combined his modern day designs with current time technology to produce a highly fashionable collection of watches. The Kenneth Cole story is still very much a work in progress.