Kenneth Cole returns to fashion week on his terms

NEW YORK (AP) - The buck - probably nubuck, in this case - again stops with Kenneth Cole.

Cole returns to New York Fashion Week on Thursday after a seven-year hiatus, seemingly putting his hand on everything before the runway lights go up: the clothes, the shoes, the handbags, the hashtags.

He bought his company back from investors last year, and it's once again privately owned with Cole fully in charge. He's energised, something he says he wasn't necessarily feeling when he pulled the plug on the catwalk. And there were times he wasn't so jazzed about much else at the office, either.

Cole, who comes off as a warm, thoughtful and passionate person in a recent interview, says he grew tired of a grind that was alternately about investors and editors - and getting their seal of approval - although, for the most part, they weren't his core customers.