I was always aware of the witty campaigns  the American footwear designer KENNETH COLE ran as part of his personal commitment in the fight against AIDS but I had no idea of either its depth or its success.  Dori Berinstein‘s documentary “A Man With Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole,”  finally tells the world of the unlimitless magnitude of a man who must have the biggest social conscience of anybody in the fashion industry,

True I was impressed  with Cole the entrepreneur  and his innovative approach to  his show business like posting a juggernaut truck outside the NY Shoe Fair Hotel so he could snap up buyers at a fraction of the cost of exhibiting in the hotel.  Then once he decided that he disliked the external pressures of running Kenneth Cole as a public company he bought it back even though it meant downsizing and took a big set of balls.  But by that time came up in the doc, we already  knew that Cole definitely had a pair of them.

Most of the leaders in the fashion industry rose to the occasion when the AIDS pandemic hot so hard, but from one who was personally involved in the UK’s Fashion Acts, but none of us ever matched Coles fierce and unflinching advocacy. In 1985, he launched a public service campaign that discussed the stigma regarding the disease, and then two years later he joined the board of directors of amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research.

This was at a time in the US when President Reagan refused to even acknowledge the AIDS crisis, let alone the ridiculous ban on publicly mentioning  condoms in advertising.

As well as the AIDS campaigns Cole ran at his business he became the Chairmen of amfar, a post he would hold for 14 years.  From Berinstein’s use of archival footage it was clear that Cole was not just a figure head but  very much a  hands-on chief.  Plus he was also one of the few rare heterosexual men playing such an active and very public role. 

In 2016, Cole was appointed a United Nations International Goodwill Ambassador on behalf of UNAIDS, and then he launched the End AIDS Coalition (EAC).

Later on Cole turned his attention to mental health and discovering that so many help agencies ran in a vacuum, he announced the formation of The Mental Health Coalition (MHC), with the aim of spreading awareness of mental health.  His coalition partnered with 34 nonprofits, including the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention,Bring Change to Mind, Child Mind Institute, Crisis Text Line, JED Foundation, Mental Health America, NAMI, and The Trevor Project. 

Cole believes that the mental health crisis in the United States is possibly one of the biggest of our time, and he is determined to keep making a difference through the MHC. 

After a mere 90 mins of watching him in action, we have absolutely no doubt he will succeed. His  passion is matched with his unceasing determination and energy and his commitment to offer meaningful help to those in need is exemplary .  

In a world currently beset with such political uncertainly, we need the Kenneth Coles of the world more than ever.

ROGER WALKER-DACK Creator, Editor-in-Chief Miami Beach, FL / Provincetown, MA IG @QUEERGURU  Member of G.A.L.E.C.A. (Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association)  and NLGJA The Association of LGBT Journalists.  and The Online Film Critics Society. Ex Contributing Editor The Gay Uk & Contributor Edge Media Former CEO and Menswear Designer of  Roger Dack Ltd in the UK