Kenneth Cole wants to dress the next generation of young professional women.
His company, Kenneth Cole Productions, has entered a strategic partnership with The Kasper Group, a wholly owned subsidiary of Premier Brands Group Holdings, to manufacture and distribute a new line of modern, wear-to-work women’s apparel.
Starting with the spring 2024 season, Kasper will manufacture and distribute women’s tailored sportswear under the Kenneth Cole New York label. The assortment will consist of tech-infused career inspired essentials designed for the young professional woman encompassing jackets, shirts, pants, skirts and dresses.
The collections will be sold at premium and major department stores and select specialty stores throughout the U.S.
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From 2016 to 2020, Global Brands Group was Cole’s women’s apparel partner.
“With 40 years in this business, we have learned the importance of listening to our customers,” said Jed Berger, president of Kenneth Cole. “Our female customers continue to tell us that there is little for them to wear in this modern wear-to-work (and after) post-COVID[-19] era. Our motto is ‘Always on Purpose.’ That’s in our social impact and in the way we make people feel in our clothes. We understand the importance of self-expression and confidence in the workplace, and we are thrilled to be able to support and empower the next generation of women.
“Kasper is the leader in the industry. They share our vision, and we can’t wait to work with them to bring the product to market,” he added. The price range of the collection wasn’t available yet.
The Kasper Group has such international brands as Nine West, Anne Klein, Kasper and Le Suit.
“Kenneth Cole has defined the standard for New York style and social consciousness for over 40 years,” said Irene Koumendouros, president and chief executive officer of The Kasper Group. “We believe that the Kenneth Cole collection has tremendous potential to fill a void in the women’s market and are excited to work with Kenneth and this team to add this iconic brand to our growing portfolio and look forward to taking it to new levels of growth.”
In 2022, Kenneth Cole signed a menswear deal with Peerless Clothing for what it calls “tailored softwear” that runs the gamut from technical blazers and bombers to five-pocket performance chinos and cargos, and performance wovens, T-shirts, polos and suit separates.
This story was reported by WWD and originally appeared on WWD.com.
