KAMALI, NORMA 1945-

Fashion designer

Cotton Fleece Line

In 1980 Norma Kamali became a household name as a result of her collection of cotton fleece coordinates inspired by dance and exercise clothes. Her line reflected the essence of 1980s clothes for women: comfortable, body-conscious, and affordable. The separates, made of sweat-clothes material, included minis, leggings, and big-shouldered tops in unassuming gray, pink, or striped fleece. They were widely copied. Kamali became particularly well known for her giant removable shoulder pads, a fad that lasted for the whole decade.

Life and Business

Of Basque and Lebanese descent, Kamali was born Norma Arraez in New York City on 27 June 1945 and grew up on the Upper East Side, where her father owned a candy store. She studied fashion illustration at the Fashion Institute of Technology, graduating in 1964. With her husband, Eddie Kamali, she opened a small shop in 1969, selling European imports and her own funky designs. In 1974 they moved to a larger store on Madison Avenue; by then Kamalis designs were less funky and more delicate, featuring suits and lace dresses. Following her divorce in 1977 she established her own retail boutique and wholesale firm, OMO (On My Own). By 1983 she was doing so well that she moved the store into a multilevel building with a ninety-nine-year lease.

Self-Sufficient

She continued to design clothes for her fleece line, produced by Jones Apparel Group, until 1986, when a dispute with the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union erupted. Accused of using illegal aliens at five dollars an hour, Kamali insisted that "All my contractors…are legal contractors, and my sample makers earn $400-$500 a week." Rather than agree to the union's demand to hire only its contractors, she opted to terminate her affiliation with Jones Apparel and take control of all of her production. Union members began picketing her stores the day she refused their demands, and some persisted until 1987. To stay in business, Kamali decided to design only what she could produce and sell in her Fifty-sixth Street store, with the exception of a licensed line of bathing suits that she would produce in Italy. That meant terminating the fleece line.

Revivals

Although her fleece coordinate line was contemporary-looking and reflected the 1980s exercise trend, Kamali was also inspired by the past. Her favorite decade was the 1940s, as seen in her shirred, draped siren dresses and bathing suits with snoods and platform shoes. But she also evoked the 1930s with long, slinky dresses and the 1950s with her popular shirtwaist dress in diverse fabrics—eyelet, printed rayon, and crushed velvet. She is also known for her quilted down coats and has created lingerie and children's clothes.

Awards

Kamali's work was well recognized in the 1980s. In 1981 she was awarded the Coty American Fashion Critics' "Winnie," followed by its Return award in 1982. She entered the Hall of Fame in 1983. In 1982 and 1985 she received awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and in 1984 and 1986 she was recognized by the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising and by the Fashion Group.

Sources:

"ILGWU vows to keep picketing Kamali," Women's Wear Daily, 18 May 1987, p. 15;

Irene Daria, Women's Wear Daily, 5 December 1986, p. 15;

Caroline Rennolds Milbank, New York Fashion: The Evolution of American Fashion (New York: Abrams, 1989);

Anne Stegemeyer, Who's Who in Fashion (New York: Fairchild, 1988).