The Real Deal

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The New York Sun

The inimitable and innovative designs of Norma Kamali didn’t even have time to go out of style before they were rediscovered. When trendy downtown vintage couture shop Resurrection started featuring three decades of Norma Kamali in a special in-store boutique recently, young fashionistas were immediately smitten with her sculptural jersey dresses and sexy, sweatshirt-based sportswear from 1970 to the mid-1990s. “So many young customers who have never heard of her before come into the store and fall in love with the clothes instantly,” said Resurrection co-owner Katy Rodriguez. “There’s something about her design that young people really respond to.”


Meanwhile, Ms. Kamali’s current creations are still flying out the door of her five-story Midtown shop, which she opened in 1978. By bridging the gap between middle-aged, die-hard fans and trendsetting teenagers looking for their next sartorial thrill, Ms. Kamali has become a unique figure in American fashion. How does she do it? The answer seems to lie somewhere between staying true to who she is and not being afraid of change. “I was lucky enough to find who I was and a way of working that I was comfortable with early on,” Ms. Kamali said in an interview last week. “Many of my early themes, such as sleeping-bag coats, parachute clothing, jersey sportswear, and sculptural bathing suits, are still with me. Why throw something away if it works? The idea of disposable fashion is so old-fashioned. I like when the classic pieces that define your character become interactive with new things that you bring in. That’s the kind of designer I am.”


A native New Yorker, Ms. Kamali first started selling her clothes in a small boutique run with her then hus band, Eddie Kamali, in 1967, after graduating from the fashion illustrator program at the Fashion Institute of Technology. In the early 1970s, she quickly gained notoriety for her elaborate snakeskin and leather appliques and parachute clothing. In 1978 she divorced her husband and moved her new company, OMO (on my own) Norma Kamali, into the 56th Street store. She went on to create three styles that would define 1980s fashion: sculptural swimwear, the fluffy down-stuffed sleeping-bag coat, and sweatshirt sportswear. Other hits included body-hugging, draped jersey garments, leopard prints, and tailored tweed suits and coats. In addition to her collaboration with Resurrection, Ms. Kamali also sells many of these vintage items at her flagship OMO shop, along with her newer lines, such as a travel-friendly jersey range that features versatile clothes that can be worn in many different ways through variations in the draping of the garment.


The desire to bring in new things has always been a driving force in Ms. Kamali’s life. “I love change,” she said. “I thrive on it.” Currently, she is working on two major new projects: a wellness line, called BAR XV, and an online retail concept. The idea of the wellness line came to Ms. Kamali after September 11.”I felt very disrupted,” she said. “I had to evaluate what I wanted to do next. I love making people look pretty, but I wanted to create something more meaningful.” A chance meeting at a baseball game with a high-end olive oil distributor led to extensive travels in Spain and France researching local oils and old-fashioned homeopathic tricks. “I found out about all these grandma recipes, and they really make sense!” she exclaimed. The result was an aromatherapeutic range of products that include gourmet olive oils, fragrances, and health foods and is available in her flagship store. “I have so many more formulas for other things, but I had to stop somewhere,” she said.


The other new venture she is embarking upon is launching an innovative online shopping service. Instead of trekking to the store and trying on clothes under the glaring lights of a dressing room, customers all over the country will be able to order products over the Internet, have them shipped to their home, try them on, think about the potential purchase for 36 hours, and send the clothes back if they decide not to buy them. In addition, Ms. Kamali is putting her flagship building on the block and breaking down her store into smaller, separate boutiques that will each sell a different line, such as swimwear, wellness, and ready-to-wear.


Another ongoing project is her work with public high school students. For the last 12 years, Ms. Kamali has been an active presence at her old high school, Washington Irving, on Irving Place. “I use fashion as a way to get through to them. It’s a great teaching tool. I can talk to them about things they normally couldn’t care less about, like math, through teaching them about cutting and sewing.” She also uses fashion shows and styling projects as confidence-building activities. “It’s so rewarding to watch them grow,” she said.


This week a select group of New Yorkers will be able to enjoy another one of Ms. Kamali’s creative endeavors. Ms. Rodriguez and Resurrection co-owner Mark Haddaway are hosting a party and screening of Ms. Kamali’s short films from the 1980s at the Tribeca Grand Hotel. “She was the first designer who used movies for her runway presentations,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “They are so fun and cheeky. Like everything else she does, her films transcend time.”


It’s not only Ms. Kamali’s work that appears timeless. Anyone who meets Ms. Kamali – who is 59 years old – is stunned by her youthful appearance. She is every bit as beautiful and glamorous as she was in 1970 and positively radiates warmth and vitality. “I often meet people that I used to idolize as a teenager,” Ms. Rodriguez said. “They rarely turn out to be as wonderful as I thought they would be. But Norma really is amazing. She’s the real deal.”


“Norma Kamali: The Complete Archive, 1968-1995,” through December 24 at Resurrection, 217 Mott St., 212-625-1374, www.resurrectionvintage.com.


OMO Norma Kamali, 11 E. 56th St., 212-957-9797, www.normakamalicollection.com.


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