Norma Kamali fall 2022

 There is something to be said for sticking to your guns. Kamali massages her DNA and hits every trend... according to the media pundits, and yet none of it is trashy seedy or full of smashed down tits, circuitous knotting, midriff cuts outs and OMG not a single plus size model in sight!!!

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Consistency pays off as well as being way ahead of your time since none of this is really all that new for her but she hits the mark. This is how a well thought out collection is brought to fruition. BULLSEYE!

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The images tell the story far better than I could ever hope to do so ... you be the judge!

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Norma Kamali resort 2022

“You have to feel casual [in] dressy and you have to feel special in casual, and that mix is where the magic is” ... and that is precisely what she does!

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There is no question that Kamali is an acquired taste and that she has an almost cult like following that allows her to keep going and doing what she does exactly how she wants to.

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It’s not fashion that sets the world on fire but it is fashion as seen by the designer’s eye and it’s just so her.  She has never strayed from her point of view and consistently shows collections that are almost incestuous in that you can mix and match from any season any way you want and its pure Kamali.

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Crazy about the gold, crazy about the sheer insets, navy, camo and crazy about these clothes that don’t require an instruction manual... put it together as you see and possibly its way she does and maybe it’s not.

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It’s hard to believe that some of the DNA is almost 50 years old and yet it still looks fresh and timely... if you are a believer that age is but a number then you might also say these are classics and for women of any age.

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Without a Grecian arena and 100 models Norma Kamali makes more of a fashion statement than that heritage maison that is no longer about design but just another brand with the emperor’s new clothes. I tip my hat to Norma Kamali who has weathered ever storm possible that has transpired in almost half of a century and the best part is that the clothes never look forced, maybe a little theatrical...   but never truly far from its home base.

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P.S. Norma understands how to inject athleticism into the clothes without showing in a sports arena or showing homeboy clothes!

NORMA KAMALI RESORT 2021

Designers take note…. Norma Kamali has withstood the test of time and weathered the tsunamis of fashion by staying true to herself and to her brand. For me, Kamali is a shining example of why and how a brand succeeds. She has never wavered, never strays far from her original concept and always looks fresh. The saddest part of it all is I believe she one of of the most under rated designers especially in the world of American designers and possibly on an international stage as well.

The photos speak to it... it is pure 100% Norma Kamali and while she may not have a business that is 100s of millions of dollars I will take her head and shoulders over so many who received unworthy hype and press whose primary concern is selling anything other than clothes!

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So here are 117,00 more words to make my point!

NORMA KAMALI FALL 2019 NYFW

One has to marvel that despite the fact that 40 years have passed that Norma Kamali remains a warrior of fashion and not a retired veteran. When no one wanted to do what she wanted she did it herself and there are few if any who can say they still make exactly the same item they did when they started and remain on top of their craft.

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She is indeed one of a kind with a specific point of view while this season, maybe it’s not quite as specific as in the past. This  season the collection is all of these things: androgynous, gender specific, sex, trendy, her DNA intact, classic, athleisure, sporty, traditional, solid,  printed, long, short, draped, second skin, simple, tricky and yet it is all pure Kamali... AND NO IT IS NOT FOR EVERYONE!

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At a time when it seems that fashion has lost is way, Ms. Kamali seems to follow her own path which always leads to a place where most designers fail to reach let  alone know where that place is. She is no dilettante playing fashion. She has remained and she retained her integrity and relevance while so many have come and gone who could never figure out WTF fashion was all about.

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I tip my hat to her for her persistence, consistency and for her stamina in a business that is most certainly cruel at times and more often than not rarely gives credit where credit is due. 

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Thank you Norma Kamali... keep doing what you do no matter what anyone else says... you see the future more clearly than those who have not an ounce of your experience or wisdom about this business we call fashion.

NORMA KAMALI PRE FALL 2019

So here is veteran designer Norma Kamali who shows the so called hot and new designers that she may not be 20 something but she gets it. She understands hot, she understands “gender fluid” she understands sexy without cleavage and most of all she understands price and that clothes don’t have to be a major investment to look of the moment.

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She riffs on herself more than once but the clothes look fresh and they look young and now they aren’t of the Balenciaga (the real one) variety but hell I’ll take her over 80% of the crap that makes its way to the runways of NYC and elsewhere. I keep seeing these stupid looking milk maid granny dresses that look like they came straight out of a Goodwill shop from the clearance rack and the so called fashion media lauds it as new and fresh when its old and tired…. more Woodstock era and before hippy dressing…. 

 Don’t get me wrong Kamali is not the answer to all that ails the business. 

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Kamali does denim and it’s not blue, she does fringe like few others and she runs circles around the so called “it” designers of the moment and more than 75% of her collection is under $500, if not less. She gets it... she does it... does she get the attention she deserves...no way! 

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People/consumers and so called fashion authorities need to open their eyes and see what’s in front of them without a press release and without bullshit inspirations and hype.

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PS.. I hate the way it’s shown but the clothes are far timelier than what is lauded and applauded by designers who won’t make it through a second year.