Random Questions For...Norma Kamali

Invent the sleeping bag coat and high-heeled sneakers? Check.  Design iconic swimwear and make jersey and parachute nylon the fabric of the seventies and eighties?  Check. Partner with mass retailers years before your competitors, launch a line of olive oil-based beauty and wellness products and make sports-inspired active wear an everyday part of mainstream culture?  Check, check, check.

New York native Norma Kamali has done all of the above since founding her eponymous label 41 years ago – and she was one of the first designers to take to the internet way back in the nineties, ditching traditional runway shows in favor of online video presentations as early as 1996 (take that, Karl Lagerfeld!) and offering a “try before you buy” service to her Web clients.

These days, Kamali, 63, has been making headlines for her recent collaboration with Wal-Mart, which features beautifully designed, well-priced women’s, kid’s, home and wellness collections, created with the motto “Timeless style is everything but fashion” in mind.

The Fashion Informer sat down with the inspirational CFDA Award-winning designer (who spends her spare time mentoring New York City public high school students), to talk books, beaches and breakfast.

So, Norma…

What is your idea of a perfect getaway?

Being near water and warmth with a sketchpad.

What's your all-time favorite work of art?

Anything by Michelangelo – an expressive use of the human form in stone or paint.

What did you eat for breakfast this morning?

Green tea and oatmeal.

What would you like to be doing if you weren't a designer?

Inventor.           

What's the biggest difference between designing your own line and doing a line for an outside company such as Everlast or Wal-Mart?

None, it has the same integrity.

What are you currently reading - and would you recommend it to others?

Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin; it’s the second time.

What is your favorite time of day?

5AM – Another chance to try to get it right.

Tell me about your best friend.

I have very few close friends, but there is not one [I like] more than the other.  They are all friends for many years.  Trust is a big part of the dynamic.

Do you keep a journal?

I have but I do it at different periods.

What do you see, right now, when you look up from your computer screen and glance around the room?

Sunlight!!!

For what would you like to be remembered?

Hummm...

Why olive oil?

The best oil on the planet: nutritious, medicinal, enhances good health and beauty and has been used forever.  It’s biblical.

What prompted your decision to start a web site, originally, and what was the inspiration for the new Skype/social networking initiatives?

I worked for SN Airline in the office in the sixties and I worked on the first computers, called Univacs.  So I had an early introduction to the possibilities and am very grateful.

Is there any difference between the customers who come to the bricks and mortar store and the customers who shop online, in your experience?

No.

What's your idea of a perfect summer day?

The sound of the ocean, the warmth of the sun.

What never fails to make you cry?

The list is too long.

What makes you happiest?

New discoveries - some as simple as a new design that made it from paper to finished product.

Stay tuned for Random Questions For…Philip Crangi

Comments

[Gabby]

Ah, i love your blog. These interviews are awesome. Especially with Norma Kamali. She doesn't get enough press.

[sunglasses onstage]

I've always loved Norma Kamali's sunglasses, great pic above. I have a blog all about amazing eyewear and the eyewear industry check out sunglassesonstage.com

[Rozdeen]

She's definitely timeless. All her pieces are practical and unique.

www.rozdeen.com

[Iced Green Tea]

Definitely could create yourself as this great fashion designer

[World Series of Poker]

This is the best site that I ever seen of Fashion!!!Thanks

[Jen@ blooming tea]

She's one of the design icons around, still current.