By PAGE Editor

For 40 years, Kenneth Cole has continued to stay relevant by leveraging his passion and unique brand platform to make a meaningful impact on people’s wardrobes, as well as communities in need.  Constantly evolving, Kenneth Cole has spent four decades obsessing over purposeful products and purpose through social impact.

As part of the brand’s 40th Anniversary celebrations, and keeping that dual meaning of purpose in mind, Kenneth Cole is launching an exciting collaboration with @dudewithsign, a capsule collection that proudly has 100% of net proceeds from the sale of the items donated to The Mental Health Coalition – a life-changing movement working to end the devastating stigma surrounding mental health by changing the way people talk about, and care for, mental illness.

A $25,000 donation to the Mental Health Coalition on behalf of FJerry, the company behind @dudewithsign & @fuckjerry, will also be made as part of this collaboration. The Coalition will be using the funds towards an important initiative around social media and its impact on mental health.

Seth Phillips started the @dudewithsign Instagram account in 2019 where he is seen holding humorous and culturally relevant signs on the streets of New York. It has since grown to 8M followers and become one of the most popular accounts on Instagram.  Likely because the signs feature witty concepts that people are familiar with, but don't usually talk about. They aim to appeal to every type of person, which is one of the reasons why the account has gained so many followers.  Kenneth took notice of the account during COVID when @dudewithsign held up a sign that read, “Saying ‘Calm Down’ Doesn’t Work.”  This felt particularly meaningful to Kenneth because of his work with the Mental Health Coalition and he was interested in working with Seth in some way.  

Fast forward to May 2023 and the Kenneth Cole X Dude With Sign collaboration has come to life perfectly timed to celebrate Mental Health Awareness Month.  The unisex collection features a crewneck sweatshirt and tee with the phrase “Saying ‘Calm Down’ Doesn’t Work” in Seth’s signature handwriting style, as a conversation starter to the way we help those around us who struggle with mental health.  Not only do net proceeds from the collection go to MHC, but Kenneth Cole and MHC will be helping to provide resources around anxiety and stress and tools for supporting friends and how to talk to someone having a panic attack, just to name a few.

"This campaign was so cool, I was very grateful to play a part. I want to say thank you to the wonderful team at Kenneth Cole for allowing me to use their platform as well as mine to emphasize something as real and universal as mental health,"

stated Seth Phillips of @dudewithsign. 

The brand is excited for this meaningful collaboration to be the second of the 40th Anniversary Voicewear collaborations for cause, which will continue to roll out over the course of the year.  The first collab was with NYC street-artist, Faust, and launched in March.  You can learn more about that one here.

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