NEW YORK, NY January 17, 2011 – Fashion designer Kenneth Cole teams up with the Sundance Institute for the seventh year by designing and donating the uniform that will be worn by the 1,600 Sundance Film Festival volunteers January 20-30. Presented to the volunteers on Day One of the festival, this year’s iconic style is a blue down filled vest which features channel quilting, welt pockets, and a functional glove hook.

For the first time, Kenneth Cole has also collaborated with Sundance Institute on the design of a limited edition retail version of the official Sundance Film Festival volunteer vest. Fans of the festival will now be able to show their support of the Institute and solidarity with volunteers through the purchase of this vest. Available at the official Sundance Film Festival Merchandise shops, the online Festival Store at Sundance.org, and for a select time, at Kenneth Cole stores nationwide and online at Kennethcole.com, a percentage of net profits from the sale will be donated to Sundance Institute – a nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences in film and theatre. Featuring the official 2011 Sundance Film Festival logo, this versatile vest is available in men’s and women’s styles, reverses from black to grey, and retails for $98.00.

With a strong belief in freedom of expression, originality and independent thought, Kenneth Cole has been a member of the Sundance Institute’s Board of Directors since 2003. He is an important advocate for the Institute’s mission and a dedicated supporter of the Sundance Film Festival’s volunteers. “So much of what the Sundance Institute is able to do is made possible only by the generous and extraordinary spirit of many individuals,” says Kenneth Cole. “I’ve long said that it’s the volunteers who are the real stars of Sundance; they make this festival possible.”

Sundance Institute

Founded by Robert Redford in 1981, Sundance Institute is a global nonprofit organization dedicated to the discovery and development of independent artists and audiences. Through its artistic development programs for directors, screenwriters, producers, composers and playwrights, the Institute seeks to discover, support, and inspire independent film and theatre artists from the United States and around the world, and to introduce audiences to their new work. The Institute promotes independent storytelling to inform, inspire, and unite diverse populations around the globe. Internationally recognized for its annual Sundance Film Festival, Sundance Institute has nurtured such projects as Born into Brothels, Trouble the Water, Son of Babylon, Amreeka, An Inconvenient Truth, Spring Awakening, Light in the Piazza, and Angels in America. www.sundance.org.

About Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc.

Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc. designs, sources and markets a broad range of footwear, handbags, apparel and accessories under the brand names Kenneth Cole New York, Kenneth Cole Reaction, Unlisted and Le Tigre, as well as footwear under the proprietary trademark Gentle Souls. The Company has also granted a wide variety of third party licenses for the production of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel as well as fragrances, watches, jewelry, eyewear and several other accessory categories. The Company’s products are distributed through department stores, better specialty stores, company-owned retail stores and its e-commerce website. Further information can be found at http://www.kennethcole.com.