How Norma Kamali Has Stayed At The Forefront Of Fashion For More Than 50 Years
Since founding her eponymous label more than 50 years ago, New York-based designer NORMA KAMALI has remained one of the most influential figures in fashion thanks to her pioneering aesthetic and modern outlook
Staying at the top of your game in the fashion industry is a challenge, but New York-based designer Norma Kamali now boasts a decades-long career that is testament to both her pioneering attitude and trailblazing designs. Kamali’s ability to embrace change and respond assertively to her clients’ ever-evolving needs remains key to her success – and the reason the label is as relevant today as it was when Kamali first launched it back in 1967.
If this season is anything to go by, the brand’s new vision involves combining aestheticism with a renewed focus on comfort and practicality to create uplifting, wearable pieces that can slot easily into any woman’s closet. Kamali has been synonymous with jersey since the ’80s, when she turned this sports fabric on its head and showed the wider industry how elevated it could become – in the right hands, of course. This season sees the designer revisit her signature fabric, with ladylike midi dresses and statement pants cast in playful tiger prints.
Perhaps unsurprisingly for a designer who is purported to have invented the now-mainstream sartorial look we call athleisure, Kamali responded to the pandemic – or, more specifically, to the way it impacted women’s style – with the same easy grace that has seen her go from cult figure to household name. Kamali has an innate understanding of what women want from the clothes hanging in their closet and, rather than look back with rose-tinted glasses or seek to fast forward through this tumultuous time, she’s responded by creating a collection that speaks to the needs of her brand fans right now, in this exact moment. “Covid will have a profound effect on the fashion industry. We are in a time of transition, and this is just the beginning,” she said.
“During times of change, new methods and ideas emerge… moving forward, this sense of ease will continue to be an important part of how we dress. We have an opportunity to reframe what fashion means post-Covid
”Norma Kamali
True to form, rather than shying away from the unique challenges she finds herself in as a designer, Kamali has chosen to address them head-on and ask some tough questions. “I contemplate whether fashion will be a part of the new normal and what will style mean going forward,” she admits. However, Kamali ultimately believes that these unprecedented times will provide fertile ground for designers to continue moving the needle: “During times of change, new methods and ideas emerge… moving forward, this sense of ease will continue to be an important part of how we dress. We have an opportunity to reframe what fashion means post-Covid.”
Kamali takes this compelling hi/lo mix up a notch by including metallic lamé pieces in her latest offering. Exuberant yet endlessly versatile, these statement designs promise to breathe new life into your look. Case in point: a disco-inspired robe dress, metallic separates and even an asymmetric gold lamé tunic. Shrug this on over everything from cigarette pants and blue jeans to oversized tailoring for a disco-inspired look. The best part? These trophy pieces are all machine washable, proving that when it comes to practicality, Kamali isn’t posturing – she demands her designs work as hard as possible for the many women who wear them.
However, not content with conquering just one sphere, in recent years Kamali has exerted her mastery over the burgeoning beauty realm, too. While she has an array of delectable products, it’s the designer’s scent body mist that is top of our wish list – thanks to its soothing blend of eucalyptus, camphor and patchouli. We recommend spritzing some on your pillows each night to help you unwind and enjoy a blissful night’s sleep.