KEYNOTE KENNETH COLE AND MEDIA AWARD RECIPIENT LOGO
ADDED TO LINE-UP OF BLACK TIE DINNER GALA
DALLAS (August 7, 2008) — Co-Chairs of the Black Tie Dinner announced today
that Kenneth Cole – founder, president, and chief executive officer of Kenneth Cole
Productions, Inc. – will be the Keynote speaker at the 27
th
annual Dinner at the Sheraton
Dallas on November 22, 2008. Additionally, Logo, the GLBT cable television and online
media outlet from MTV Networks, the force behind channels like VH1, MTV, TV Land
and SpikeTV, will be honored with the 2008 Black Tie Dinner Media Award.
KENNETH COLE, KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Kenneth Cole’s name is synonymous with one of the top labels in contemporary
fashion that sells shoes, clothing, and accessories, but he is just as well known as a
humanitarian, activist and philanthropist.
Randy Ray, co-chair of the fundraiser, said “coordinators of the event consider
Kenneth Cole one of the most engaging – and engaged – business leader-activists in the
country.” Ray added “it is an honor and a privilege to have Kenneth Cole, a figure on the
front-line of fashion trends, AIDS awareness and social activism, as our 2008 keynote
speaker.”
In 1985, Kenneth Cole was the first member of the fashion community to take a
public stand in the fight against AIDS. He recently was elected Chairman of amfAR, The
American Foundation for AIDS Research, on whose national board he has served for
several years. Kenneth is also a board member of the Council of Fashion Designers of
America (CFDA) and The Sundance Institute. He is a former, and founding, national
board member of HELP USA, the largest provider of housing and services for the
homeless.
A strong advocate for community building and social change for the past 25
years, Kenneth Cole has turned his company, Kenneth Cole Productions, into a powerful
public awareness vehicle for such issues as AIDS, homelessness, gun safety and women’s
rights among other causes. Kenneth Cole’s current fashion campaign is replacing
stereotypical models with real people who live their lives in a non-uniform way — either
by their own choice or through circumstance. The campaign is comprised of a series of
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arresting photography and video that celebrates diversity, featuring the tagline, “We All
Walk In Different Shoes.” The campaign includes two lesbian moms, Nicoletta and
Joanna, and their daughter Ruthie. Nina Poon, a transgender woman, is featured in
another story of diversity. By integrating these compelling people of substance into
Kenneth Cole’s fashion campaign the hope is to dispel all forms of social prejudices
while also exemplifying diversity.
According to amfAR, “Kenneth Cole has made one of the single most remarkable
philanthropic commitments in contemporary America, a commitment that breaks down
the barriers between the public interest and corporate sectors and between deeply held
personal values of equity and justice and day-to-day business concerns. In doing so, he
proves that a social conscience and business acumen are not mutually exclusive and
provides a role model for a new kind of corporate philanthropy.”
Since Kenneth Cole Productions went public in June of 1994, Kenneth Cole
Productions has been on Forbes’ annual list of the World’s 200 Best Small Companies in
America four times. In addition, several times since becoming a public company,
Kenneth Cole Productions (KPC) has been named to Business Week’s list of Top Hot
Growth Companies.
LOGO, 2008 BLACK TIE DINNER MEDIA AWARD RECIPIENT
Brian Graden, President, Entertainment, MTV Networks Music Group, and
President, Logo will be in attendance at the 2008 Black Tie Dinner to accept the first
Black Tie Dinner Media Award on behalf of Logo. The Black Tie Dinner Media Award
is given in recognition of positive, increased awareness of gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender issues in the media.
Laurie Foley, co-chair of the fundraiser, said “The presence of the pioneering
Logo cable television and online media outlet as the 2008 Black Tie Media Award
recipient rounds out this year’s dinner as one of the most empowering, educational and
entertaining events in our history.”
MTV Networks launched Logo in 2005 as a basic cable channel with original
programming, news and movies for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender viewers.
Logo is now available in 33 million homes and LOGOonline.com offers the world’s
largest collection of LGBT-themed video anywhere online and Logo’s federation of
websites serving the LGBT audience includes AfterEllen.com, AfterElton.com,
DowneLink.com, NewNowNext.com and 365gay.com.
Logo features original programming including Sordid Lives: the Series, Shirts &
Skins and Rick & Steve. Logo also airs a show about coming out stories, music videos,
special news features, short gay films, movies of interest to the GLBT community and
shows popular in GLBT culture like Queer as Folk, Tales of the City, and AfterEllen.com
Presents: The L Wo
