20 Minutes Together: American Fashion Designer Norma Kamali

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Norma Kamalis’ career as a designer spanned nearly 55 years. Her sleeping bag coat, an oversized piece of nylon, is so famous that it was part of last year’s exhibition on the American fashion icon at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Kamali’s clothing continues to be a mainstay on the red carpet, with celebrity fans, including Jennifer Lopez, Bette Midler, and Beyonc.

But the New York-based designer is both business-minded and creative and serves as CEO of his eponymous brand. Through his long history of leading companies, Kamali, 77, has managed to stay at the forefront or in front of retail trends: In 1995, when many companies had no online presence, he launched a website and became a pioneer in the now ubiquitous concept. . than almost try before you buy.

He has also successfully pivoted during the pandemic from in-person presentation of his collection to online showings—a strategy that has seen his profits grow.

Today, Kamali is solely focused on e-commerce and has no physical footprint. At the same time, the company has grown to include its lifestyle division, NormaLife, which includes home goods, skincare, and olive oil.

In 2020, he released his second book, I’m Invincible, which describes her lifestyle and encourages self-empowerment in women. He recently spoke with Five about his career.

FIVE: In the ever-changing fashion and lifestyle industry, what do you think is the key to your longevity?

Kamili’s Norm: I like to think that my approach to fashion is authentic. I want clothes that are comfortable, attractive, and easy to care for, like everything I own. Nothing needs dry cleaning. I also believe in affordable clothes that are timeless. If it’s relevant today, it should be relevant 40 years from now.

My philosophy speaks to women and has helped me connect with customers who keep buying my clothes again and again.

Right now you are only focusing on e-commerce. Are you making these changes because of the pandemic?

It has nothing to do with Covid. I decided 20 years ago that traditional department stores were going in a direction I didn’t like. Initially, these stores had a very practical approach when it came to customer service. Then they became about sales and numbers and bottom lines. As a small business, I feel vulnerable that my success depends on their success. They have the potential to put me out of business. My gut tells me that going online is the way to go.

Between 2011 and 2014, I started to go online only. Wal-Mart is one retailer where I have a major online presence. I design product lines exclusively for the companies they manufacture and sell. The success of this business is proof that online exclusive is the right move.

You start designing clothes but expand with the debut of NormaLife. Why did you open a branch?

My clothing line has so many categories of swimwear, everyday wear, coats, bridal wear. NormaLife is an extension of this and includes products that I love and make myself. I feel that I am adding value by offering it to customers. Olive oil, for example, has been my go-to for as long as I can remember, I use it in cooking, finishing dishes, and moisturizing my skin. I work with small producers in Provence to bring high quality oil to my customers.

Can you share your greatest successes and challenges in your business to date?

I think longevity is my greatest success.

I have a challenge every week. My biggest recent has been surviving the pandemic. We have major issues with our supply chain with regards to the materials to manufacture our apparel. Much of this is due to overseas shutdowns, a lack of manpower to drive trucks, reductions in staff at factories, and power outages at factories. This problem exists even now.

I also have to drop methods that no longer work and adopt new methods. For example, we usually show our new collections to buyers in our showroom every season, many of our regular customers will fly to New York for these presentations. Obviously, they stopped when Covid happened.

We had to find new ways to show what we designed; We do this by creating video content for digital presentations that needs to be as powerful as people can see in person. In addition, we started sending packages to our customers with pictures of the garments and fabric samples of their materials. Our approach worked, and within a year, we had exceeded our pre-Covid sales. Today, although in-person presentations are making a comeback, many of our customers prefer the online route.

Have you faced challenges in the fashion industry because of your gender?

Not just in the fashion industry, but in the business world as a whole. Over the years, many people have alluded to the fact that a man would be better off running my business and couldn’t imagine me as CEO. It’s gotten better over time, but it’s still there. The idea of ​​a female designer being CEO is a tricky combination.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.