2026 Social Impact Summit Honors Kenneth Cole and Selena Gomez
Kenneth Cole speaks onstage at the Social Impact Fund and FIT Foundation's 2026 Social Impact Summit at Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center on March 30 in New York City.
Jason Mendez/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
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Kenneth Cole and Selena Gomez were honored at the 2026 Social Impact Summit, the first outing of the Social Impact Fund to focus on fashion and beauty philanthropy, where speakers and panelists shared insight on topics from the importance of creative diversity to why college isn’t the only pathway to a career in the industry.
Veteran fashion and accessories designer Kenneth Cole was honored with the Social Impact Fund’s Excellence in Fashion Philanthropy Award by Michael Atmore, editor-in-chief of Women’s Wear Daily, in front of an audience full of VIPS, Fashion Institute of Technology students and fashion and beauty execs inside FIT’s theater.
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In 1985 — more than 40 years ago — Cole started a very witty ad campaign in support of HIV/AIDS research and charities. He was the first person in fashion to launch a full-scale philanthropic ad campaign, which led the way for many others.
“At the time I started,” Cole told Atmore as part of an onstage Q&A, “AIDS was already pervasive, but no one was talking about it. I don’t think we could have started this today, in the age of social media. There are so many voices; it’s so loud; we never would have stood out. Plus the bots are controlling a lot of what goes on there. But in the ’80s and ’90s, the ads got a great deal of attention; it helped kick off the whole idea of corporate and fashion philanthropy.”
One billboard for Kenneth Cole shoes read: “It’s not just what you stand in, it’s what you stand for.”
“It was always my goal here to inject humor into the campaigns,” Cole said. “I don’t take myself too seriously — but I do take what I do quite seriously. … I eventually switched from funding AIDS organizations to mental health efforts. There’s a complete mental health crisis in this country; I thought it was about time somebody try to do something about it.”
Elyse Cohen, chief impact officer at Rare Beauty Cosmetics, accepted the Excellence in Beauty Philanthropy Award for Rare Beauty cosmetics creator Gomez, who had many fans in the audience, as you might imagine, but was under the weather and unable to attend. She was presented with the award by Jenny B. Fine, WWD’s executive editor, beauty.
“This award is really so fitting for Selena because when she launched Rare Beauty in 2020, she made the rare commitment to donate 1 percent of all sales to the Rare Beauty Impact Fund,” Cohen said. “Selena is always mission first and truly; that is how the business was built. The beauty industry is set up to cover up what makes you unique. Selena did not believe in these standards of perfection. When I met Selena, I was overwhelmed by her sense of commitment on the underfunded issue of mental health. We started six years ago. … We’ve seen young people come to us not just for beauty advice, but to learn about mental health. We launched the business during a global pandemic. Because everyone was so isolated from each other, it was a good time to launch an online community of like-minded people.”
The Rare Beauty Impact fund has raised $30 million in six years for these efforts, noted Cohen. “People think of us as this massive brand, but we actually aren’t. But now not only are we in Sephora, we just came into Ulta, which will help us raise much more for these efforts. Selena made a commitment to raise $100 million; she’s very serious about it. We went through a rigorous process to vet the right organizations to support. We want to be known as the company who paved the way for causes not historically dealt with through the channel of beauty.”
She also let out to Rare Beauty Fans that a new product will be coming out soon from the brand, which is really known for its blushes: “a new foundation that will be in 48 shades.”
Elyse Cohen speaks at the Social Impact Fund and FIT Foundation’s 2026 Social Impact Summit at Fred P. Pomerantz Art and Design Center on March 30 in New York City.
Jason Mendez/GA/The Hollywood Reporter via Getty Images
New York’s legendary FIT was a fitting home for the 2026 Social Impact Su