“You can change an outfit, you can outfit change, or both” – one of Kenneth Cole’s many important quotes. As ever, the designer couldn’t be more on point, and now, with CFDA’s 2018 Kenneth Cole Footwear Innovation Award recipient Susan Zienty on board, the brand is making another significant move into outfitting change by way of sustainability.
Today, Kenneth Cole New York is launching Maddox Resource, a new addition to the popular Maddox sneaker family. Zienty reimagined the style in an eco-conscious way, looking to the brand’s salvaged overstock materials for the core of each shoe, and adding recyclable polyester lace as well as recycled neoprene and an eco-content outsole to the designs. This being made of deadstock materials, the run of each $225 pair is limited.
“After learning about the heritage of Kenneth Cole and experiencing the process of shoemaking, I have learned that innovation is all about creative solutions and coloring outside the lines,” the Academy of Art University alum said. “Working at a company that fosters innovation and encourages curiosity has propelled my creativity and problem-solving skills.
“I was able to help push the Maddox Resource program forward,” Zienty added. “I am so proud to have been part of the process to create a collection of shoes with sustainability in mind.”
Kenneth Cole lauded the Footwear Innovation Program with the CFDA, which, he said, “has provided us with such great talent. These young, inspiring individuals have a different context, and new perspective on not just where we are, but where we need to be.”
Cole added that he loves “getting to work with these designers, mentoring them, and creating shoes with them. I believe that there are extraordinary synergies where if a mentor, mentee can work together you can go so much further. Susan and her work on the Maddox Resource project is a perfect example of how these synergies helped to create such an impressive product.”
Check out the Maddox Resource on KennethCole.com and go to @kennethcole on Instagram today at 12PM to watch the Let’s Do Launch Live Story, which will feature Susan Zienty talking about what it’s like to work with Kenneth Cole, her passion for sustainable design, and the Maddox Resource.
