THE ICON

American designer and one of fashion's foremost thinkers NORMA KAMALI is a few years away from hitting the six-decade mark in the business. In a conversation with Ashwini Arun Kumar, she reminisces about her time in the industry and how she became an unexpected feminist idol

- Ashwini Arun Kumar

It is 7.30 AM in New York when Norma Kamali beams on screen from her headquarters in Lower Manhattan. She is wearing a black jacket with a matching crew neck T-shirt underneath, cat eye sunglasses in tortoise shell, and her signature baby bangs. "Here we go!" she exclaims. She isn't kidding.

Norma had rizz long before Gen-Z's unbridled usage made it the Oxford University Press's word of the year for 2023. Who is Norma Kamali, you ask? Normally, we'd say that the legendary designer needs no introduction. But at least three generations have passed since she first started designing, warranting a little rejigging of memory. To put things into perspective, among those who started their labels in the '60s and '70s, Norma Kamali is one of the rare few who continues to be at the helm of her eponymous brand and have a thriving business.

What held true then holds true now - Norma was and always will be a bonafide original. "I have never looked at other people's designs and copied them," she muses. "I do fittings directly on a mannequin and, if I have an idea, I take it forward from there." This has been her only 'design method' for close to 60 years now.

Before we dive deeper into the legend that the CO T is Norma, here are a few examples of why she is who she is. You might think bum shorts only burgeoned IRL post appearing in SS24 shows? When Norma started making her clothes in 1968, she was among the first in New York City to cut shorts that high. "I am always thinking about the world and what women are experiencing at a particular time, and what they need for that," she explains. "That's the way the thread goes for me."