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Steven Kolb

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by FreakBrainAtWork (talk | contribs) at 15:36, 22 February 2021 (→‎Personal life: Personal life and philanthropy need to be separated. Also, Took me a while to sort career section and organize it. Plz discuss.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Steven Kolb
EducationNew York University (Masters in Public Administration), Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University (Doctorate of the Arts)
Occupation(s)Philanthropist, Entrepreneur, Non-Profit Leader
TitleCEO of Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA)
SpouseJason Inkpen

Steven Kolb is chief executive officer of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA),[1] a group of 477 American fashion womenswear, menswear, jewelry, and accessories designers.[2]

Education

He holds a Masters in Public Administration from New York University and an honorary doctorate of the Arts from Kendall College of Art and Design at Ferris State University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[1]

His background was in the non-profit sector, focusing on raising funds for HIV and AIDS and cancer. He began his career at the American Cancer Society in New Jersey. While working as the Deputy Director at the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS (DIFFA), he managed a network of chapter affiliates and organized events like Dining by Design and caused related marketing programs like the Gift of Hope.

Career

Kolb is the founding Executive Director of MTV's Staying Alive Foundation, where he set up the organization as a 501(c)3 and established an international grant-making program for HIV/AIDS prevention and education for youth.

He manages the CFDA's membership, trade association activities, and longstanding philanthropic initiatives such as Fashion Targets Breast Cancer[1], which raises public awareness and funds for breast cancer research in the U.S. and internationally. Furthermore, he has overseen fundraising for natural disasters such as Fashion for Sandy,[2] which raised funds after Hurricane Sandy and HIV/AIDS through initiatives such as 7th on Sale and Love Ball. Kolb works directly with the CFDA Board Chair Tom Ford and the CFDA board, composed of America's designers, such as Diane von Furstenberg, Vera Wang, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Ashley Olsen, Prabal Gurung, and Tommy Hilfiger.[3]

Kolb led the program, CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund(CVFF).[4] He serves as a judge for CVFF and was featured on The Fashion Fund, an original unscripted series documenting CVFF. Alongside Vogue’s Anna Wintour and Tom Ford, Kolb led the 2020 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund's repurposing into a fundraiser called A Common Thread to aid fashion businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.[5] The other CFDA programs where he sits on the selection committee include the Elaine Gold Launch Pad in partnership with the Accessories Council[6] and the CFDA/Lexus Fashion Initiative supporting sustainable fashion practices. Kolb has helped build the annual CFDA Fashion Awards to become the preeminent spotlight on American fashion, even being called the Oscars of Fashion.[7]

Under his direction, the CFDA worked with the Boston Consulting Group to conduct an extensive study to evaluate the purpose of New York Fashion Week. The intent of the study was to question the status quo of fashion week and stimulate a dialogue in the American fashion industry.[8] Kolb has also worked to establish the Strategic Partnerships Group (SPG) at the CFDA. This group works to align corporate partners with the CFDA's members strategically. The partnerships include American Express, Cadillac, Lexus, Klarna, Accenture, Starbucks, NFL's Super Bowl, Cartoon Network, and Pokémon.

Furthermore, Kolb helped pave the way for the CFDA's Health Initiative, which was formed to address the overwhelming concern about whether some models are unhealthily thin and how to implement best practices in such cases. In 2018, the Health Initiative was expanded to the Initiative on Health, Safety, and Diversity, addressing harassment and assault and the need for more diverse casting. In addition, under his direction, CFDA produced a study with Glamour Magazine called "The Glass Runway," looking at the gender inequalities in the fashion industry and offering actionable steps for improvement,[9] and with PVH Corp, CFDA is working toward inclusion and diversity in fashion. Specifically, Kolb is behind the 2019 report and action plan called ‘Insider/Outsider' that spans all areas of inclusion and diversity,[10] and the 2021 follow up report ‘State of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in Fashion’ that guides companies to quantify their culture’s strengths and opportunities for improvement and offers actionable steps to foster a talent pipeline for underrepresented communities.

Kolb led campaigns with Planned Parenthood, ACLU, and immigration reform with FWD.US through CFDA.[11] As a response to the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, Kolb, along with CFDA chairman Tom Ford and the CFDA Board of Directors, announced new organizational commitments, led by CFDA President CaSandra Diggs, to create systematic changes within the fashion industry to give Black people more opportunities while tackling injustices.[10] Kolb's leadership launched a hub designed to provide open access resources and information specific to fashion design x business sustainable strategies in CFDA.[12] He led CFDA's effort to acquire the Fashion Calendar—the official schedule of fashion events and shows in New York, including New York Fashion Week.[13]

Amid the 2009 recession and the lowest retail sales in 35 years, Kolb was part of a team that created Fashion’s Night Out, a CFDA, Vogue, and NYC & Co program to stimulate shopping again. By 2012, Fashion’s Night Out had expanded to 500 cities nationwide and 30 cities internationally.[14]

He has helped develop the Fashion Manufacturing Initiative (FMI),[13] which is an investment fund to help revitalize New York City's garment industry. He served on the Manhattan Borough President's working group to define new initiatives to support mid-town Manhattan production. He also works to keep a designer's original designs intact through the Innovative Design Protection and Piracy Prevention Act.

Furthermore, Kolb works with international counterparts to manage the global fashion week schedule. He spearheaded the creation of the New York Fashion Week logo and brand. In July 2015, under his leadership, New York Fashion Week: Men's launched, creating a stand-alone fashion week for American menswear that aligns with the men's market.[13]

In 2020, he foresaw the challenges of live fashion shows due to COVID-19 and led the CFDA to launch RUNWAY360, a unique and innovative digital platform developed to support American designers by bringing together every aspect of a collection launch in a one-stop-shop environment.[15] In the same year, the Local Production Fund (LPF) was created as part of FMI to support new production in New York City.

Kolb served as a judge for the International Woolmark Prize and the H&M Foundation Global Change Award.

Kolb has been interviewed on podcasts including Fashion Your Seatbelt: The CFDA’s Pragmatic Visionary CEO,[16] Circle of Influence,[17] and The Future of Fashion: Steven Kolb & Caroline Rush: The fashion show will always serve a purpose.[18]

Prior work

Kolb's background was also in the non-profit sector, but focused on raising funds for HIV and AIDS and cancer. He began his career at the American Cancer Society in New Jersey. While working as the deputy director at the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS DIFFA he managed a network of chapter affiliates and raised millions of dollars through events like Dining by Design and caused related marketing programs like the Gift of Hope. He is the founding executive director of MTV's Staying Alive Foundation where is set up the organization as a 501(c)3 and established an international grant making program for HIV/AIDS prevention and education for youth.

Personal life

On December 27, 2012 Kolb married longtime partner Jason Inkpen[2] in New York City.

References

  1. ^ a b Aktar, Alev (2016-06-06). "Inside the stylish life of CFDA boss Steven Kolb". New York Post. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  2. ^ a b c Yaeger, Lynn (2012-09-07). "Collect Call | Steven Kolb's Owls". T Magazine. Retrieved 2021-02-17.
  3. ^ fashiontargetsbreastcancer.com http://fashiontargetsbreastcancer.com/. Retrieved 2021-02-22. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ "CFDA". cfda.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  5. ^ "CFDA". cfda.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  6. ^ "CFDA". cfda.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  7. ^ Yotka, Steff. "'Vogue' and the CFDA Launch the A Common Thread Initiative to Support American Fashion". Vogue. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  8. ^ Sidell, Misty White; Sidell, Misty White (2018-05-30). "CFDA, Accessories Council Kick Off Elaine Gold Launchpad, Round Two". WWD. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  9. ^ Phelps, Nicole. "Change Is Coming: The CFDA Releases Results of Study on the Future of New York Fashion Week". Vogue. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  10. ^ a b Meyers, Arthur Zaczkiewicz,Tracey; Zaczkiewicz, Arthur; Meyers, Tracey (2018-05-14). "Report: Immigration Policies Hamper Fashion Industry Success". WWD. Retrieved 2021-02-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Lockwood, Lisa; Lockwood, Lisa (2013-10-29). "Alice + Olivia's Stacey Bendet Teams With Starbucks". WWD. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  12. ^ "CFDA-PVH_Insider-Outsider_Final_01-2019" (PDF).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ a b c Friedman, Vanessa (2018-05-20). "Fashion's Woman Problem (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  14. ^ News, Taiwan. "The party's over for Fashion's Night Out | Taiwan News | 2013/02/27". Taiwan News. Retrieved 2021-02-22. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  15. ^ "CFDA". cfda.com. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  16. ^ "‎Fashion Your Seatbelt: 066 Steven Kolb: The CFDA's Pragmatic Visionary CEO on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  17. ^ "‎Circle of Influence: A New Lens Into The New Year on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
  18. ^ "Steven Kolb & Caroline Rush: The fashion show will always serve a purpose". Vogue Business. Retrieved 2021-02-22.
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