“Because I didn’t have anything to fall back on, I had to figure out how to make it work,” said Norma Kamali, speaking at FIT’s Hue Live! event Tuesday night about her 53-year career.
“And it wasn’t easy for sure. It took 14 years before anybody outside of the underground, cult-y group of people knew who I was and what I was doing. It took a long time to get to a certain point because I decided to be independent,” said Kamali.
The designer, who graduated from FIT in 1965 with a degree in illustration, was interviewed virtually by Alex Joseph, managing editor of Hue, FIT’s magazine. Topics ranged from fashion shows and gender-fluid clothing to Farrah Fawcett, the pandemic, and an offshore manufacturing proposition.
In the past, Kamali has said she never wanted to be the richest or most famous designer.
“You have to make a decision about what’s important to you. Living a creative life was for sure very important to me,” said the 74-year-old designer, who’s best known for her sleeping bag coat, parachute collection, body-conscious clothes and daring swimwear. She understood that may not mean she’d make a lot of money or be the most famous designer. She never cared
Author: Fashion Editor
Count PGA as the latest trade show to cancel as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
On Wednesday afternoon, the organization said it will forego the PGA Fashion & Demo Experience, scheduled for Aug. 18 and 19 at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, and will instead “facilitate business connections through a series of digital programs” starting in June and continuing throughout the year. Plans for its larger PGA Merchandise Show, slated for Jan. 26 to 29, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, are still on track, the PGA said.
“Our top priority is to ensure the health and safety of the golf community at PGA Show events. We are simultaneously steadfast in our dedication to help support the golf industry right now,” said PGA Golf Exhibitions event vice president Marc Simon. “In partnership with the PGA of America, we will introduce details soon regarding a number of virtual and digital options to help connect and reengage the golf industry, and support PGA Professionals, attendees, exhibitors and associations.”
“We are thankful to the PGA of America and industry partners for providing key insights and guidance, as well as to the Southwest PGA Section and the Venetian for their ongoing support,”
It launches May 27 with Anna Kendrick’s rom-com anthology series and all 10 seasons of ‘Friends.’
The book was inspired by her love of sloths.
RAINBOW BET: Retailers are embracing well-being trends — meant as an antidote to the coronavirus gloom — including Le Bon Marché, which plans to work a color theme with a hippie chic bent across the store starting May 16. The tony, Left Bank institution will offer tie-dye hoodies, T-shirts and bathing suits, as well as earrings — and sneakers — with a dream-catcher motif.
Channeling the original, hippie spirit, the product mix will be eclectic, but sleeker, and more modern, naturally, geared toward fashion-conscious Parisians.
Loewe’s tie-up with the fabled Paula’s Ibiza will figure prominently, with a large space on the third floor, offering clothing and accessories for men and women, while Antik Batik will draw on Mongolian vibes and Farm Rio will attempt to capture the feel of a Brazilian beach.
Jérôme Dreyfuss is selling a colorful, fringed handbag while Isabel Marant is offering feathered earrings. Aurélie Bidermann and Sylvia Toledano are two other fine jewelry labels taking part, while on the higher end, Bulgari and Tasaki are focusing on color. In the dream-catcher department, Notify offers an embroidered jean jacket or sneakers.
The department store’s food hall next door, La Grande Epicerie, will also take part, offering Bloom energy balls and Les Fleurs
This month, many states will start easing stay-at-home restrictions set because of the coronavirus pandemic, permitting businesses nationwide to begin reopening their doors.
Fashion retailers have been heavily impacted by the pandemic, which has forced many to shutter their doors, furlough their staffs or reduce operations. Several companies, including J. Crew and Neiman Marcus, have filed for bankruptcy due in part to the virus.
After nearly two months of limited operations, major retailers such as Macy’s, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, among others, have started implementing reopening strategies, which include resuming operations in states with relaxed restrictions, offering curbside pickup or by-appointment services.
Check back on this post, as it will be updated as news develops.
Here, WWD looks at the major U.S. retailers that have started reopening their doors.
Abercrombie & Fitch:
The fashion brand reopened an undisclosed number of locations in states that have eased stay-at-home restrictions.
American Eagle Outfitters Inc.:
The company has reopened 207 American Eagle and Aerie stores across the country. The stores will be practicing social distancing and will offer curbside and in-store pickup options.
Belk:
The department store chain reopened stores in Arkansas and South Carolina and will be operating at limited capacity. Belk also offers curbside pickup.
Bluemercury:
The beauty retailer will reopen
GOLDEN GIFT: Closed is betting on the increasing self-gifting trend among female consumers after months of confinement.
The indie denim contemporary brand launched a capsule collection of demi-fine jewelry in partnership with Berlin-based label Maximova.
The capsule called Clsd x Mxmv marks Closed’s foray into the category, with a range of nine jewelry pieces in gold vermeil handmade in Germany and designed by jeweler Dari Maximova.
“At Closed we love collaborating with brands which produce products we love, but where we are missing the expertise to do it ourselves. Dari is such an inspiring, lively and creative person and her jewelry feels very organic. Her approach and her local production made her a perfect partner for a collaboration,” said Gordon Giers, one of the three owners of Closed.
Maximova was inspired by nature for the lineup, which features charms in the shapes of leaves, buds and twigs hanging from paper-clip chain necklaces and a matching bracelet. Earrings, too, come in similar shapes, sometimes hanging from irregular hoops.
Retailing at between 115 euros and 255 euros, the collection is available exclusively on Closed’s online store, at select flagships and on Maximova’s e-commerce.
Inspired by her Bulgarian upbringing and the travels she made as a model, Maximova founded