Norma Kamali

Norma Kamali studied Fashion Illustration at FIT before taking a job at Northwest Orient Airlines. From 1964 to 1968, she traveled to the United Kingdom every weekend, where she immersed herself in the culture of 1960s London. In 1967, she and her husband opened a boutique in New York City and filled it with items purchased in London. She supplemented her stock with her own designs and eventually began to focus primarily on her original creations. In 1973, she began experimenting with multi-style jersey designs and debuted her “All-in-One” dress. The following year, she created the “Sleeping Bag” coat and her “Parachute” collection, made from real silk parachutes with adjustable drawstrings. All three styles continue to be synonymous with her brand. Additionally, her one-piece, high-cut swimsuits reached major popularity after they were worn by Farrah Fawcett on a popular 1976 poster and by Whitney Houston on the back of her self-titled album cover in 1985. In 1978, after a divorce, she started a new business called OMO Norma Kamali, an acronym for On My Own. In 1980, her “Sweats” collection brought active-casual apparel into everyday ready-to-wear. Over the years, her business has expanded into skincare, fragrance, and home collections. Rather than participate in traditional bi-annual fashion weeks, Kamali prefers to premiere her collections in her store windows. She has won numerous COTY Awards for her many innovative contributions to fashion. Kamali has remained the sole owner of her globally-distributed company and continues to be a strong advocate for wellness and technology.