Speaker: Norma Kamali

Norma Kamali is an American fashion designer best known for the sleeping bag coat, swimwear garments made from silk parachutes, and versatile multiuse pieces. She also has a new line of wellness products called NORMALIFE.

New York City native, Norma attended the Fashion Institute of Technology earning a degree in illustration. Upon graduating, she worked as a freelance fashion illustrator before opening a boutique with her then husband. She became known for her line of clothing made of real silk parachute material – the most famous being the red one-piece bathing suit worn by Farrah Fawcett in the iconic 1976 poster as well as the bathing suit worn by Whitney Houston on the back cover of her 1985 debut album. She also popularized the shoulder pad in womenswear in the 1980s. Kamala’s work is found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and was the first designer to create an online store on eBay.

Norma Kamali has received numerous awards and recognition for her work including a Coty Award in 1981, a plaque on the Fashion Walk of Fame, the CFDA Board of Directors Special Tribute Award in 2005, the CFDA Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016, and the Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer Award at the United Nations in recognition for her achievements in the fashion industry in 2019.