Norma Kamali is a 75 year old fashion designer based in America, who launched her namesake label in 1969 and became the most talked-about brand due to its innovative and unconventional approach to designs. Kamali was born in New York City and her middle class family did not have enough resources to invest in the dreams of Norma. She was a bright student and earned scholarship for her further studies as a necessity to accomplish her goals. However, interestingly Kamali did not intended to become a fashion designer from the start. She attended the Fashion Institute of Technology and earned her graduation in illustration, with aspirations to become a painter. She worked under a few companies but left them due to the demanding and restrictive environment there. She travelled and explored London and bought many clothes, and then opened her boutique and sold those clothes. Her career took a different route and she stumbled upon designing clothes and ended up creating the most unconventional and challenging designs of the mid twentieth century. She learned sewing and stitching to create her own designs for the store. 

Norma Kamali opened her boutique with the help of her then husband, and thereafter designed several statement pieces including bathing suits, skirts, sleeping bag coats etc. Her designs were comfortable, functional  and durable with streetstyle vibe to them. She has blurred the differences between feminine and masculine clothes, to make fashion gender neutral. She designs for someone who has a freestyle and is eager to challenge the convention. When she graduated, silks and long skirts were prevalent among the public but the designs she created included hot pants, very short shorts, compromising necklines and other designs which were different from the time. The garments are comfortable, easy-to-wear and flattering on the figure. She ended her relationship with her husband and business partner in 1970’s and have been managing the whole brand alone since then. The sleeping bag coat that she designed, which became a sensational hit during that time and still is, was inspired by her own struggles after her divorce. She used to sleep in sleeping bag for a few days after her divorce and this inspired her to design a coat like a sleeping bag. Her brand was the first designer to launch an online store at eBay.

Norma was disheartened when she lost several of her friends to AIDS in 70’s and suffered creative block for some time period but she regained her creativeness and got back to the game. After the unfortunate event of 9/11, the designer thought to organize sessions to boost people’s health, mentally and physically. She opened stores where several talks were regularly organized such as reading sessions or meditation sessions which were supplemented with healthy refreshments to boost immunity. Due to her hardwork, Norma earned several prestigious awards including lifetime achievement award by CFDA, Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Pioneer award, American Fashion Critics' award and the list goes on. The NYC designer has positively influenced youth due to her fitness and wellness, and holistically as a strong female who has single-handedly managed the brand, without the support of any business partner.