Evening dress
Designer
Norma Kamali
(born 1945)
1975
Polyester knit
Gift of Alan Gilliland
Object number89.64.11
Norma Kamali's affinity for drapery is evident in this evening dress, but the ever-innovative designer put a twist on an old standard: the tiers of soft Grecian-inspired folds are balanced by a substantial shoulder pad, a recurring element in her work. "My clothes are flamboyant and so are the people who buy them," Kamali told the New York Times in 1978. In the same article, she discussed her preferred dressmaking technique - pinning a garment on her own body. "I don't sketch until after I'm done draping. Sketching can confine you," she said, even though she is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology's Fashion Illustration program.
DescriptionLong Grecian style evening dress in sheer teal blue polyester knit, with V-neck, shoulder pads, and horizontal rows of shirring at shoulder, waist, hip, knee and hemCollections