USA: Fashion designer Norma Kamali gets creative during the economic downturn

Record ID: 197297

  • Title: USA: Fashion designer Norma Kamali gets creative during the economic downturn
  • Date: 20th September 2009
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) DESIGNER NORMA KAMALI, SAYING: "We're all in a very serious situation, and I personally think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better. So I think, as far as the clothes I show, they should be timeless, classic, but not boring, and I think that that's what I'm doing, and I'm showing classic Norma Kamali, but it's more the way we present clothes and the way that we do things, that is challenged right now."
  • Embargoed: 5th October 2009 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Usa
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Fashion,Economic News
  • Reuters ID: LVABEYHCX7ODVJJG9TG4QQ5XS1PA
  • Story Text: The economic outlook has been dismal since the collapse of the banking industry one year ago, but rather than cower in fear, designer Norma Kamali faces the crisis head on with innovative marketing.
    The American fashion designer decided to tackle the recession at this year's Fashion Week in New York by giving new meaning to the democratization of fashion. She staged her show not in the extravagant tents at Bryant Park, but on a New York street. Tourists and locals stood on the corner with coffee in hand watching the models in Kamali's signature jumpsuits and bathing suits stomp down the street.
    Kamali hasn't changed the way she makes her clothes, but what is different than in years past is the way they are presented.
    "I'm showing classic Norma Kamali, but it's more the way we present clothes and the way that we do things, that is challenged right now," says Kamali. We're all in a very serious situation, and I personally think the economy is going to get worse before it gets better."
    Kamali has also fully embraced new technology and social networking sites like Twitter and YouTube. Kamali created her own iphone application which can be downloaded for free. The collection that she staged on Thursday (September 17) became available as soon as the show was over. Instead of having to wait until the clothes hit the stores in spring, consumers can order them online through the application.
    "What I decided to do was to present some of the ideas of what we've been doing using new technology as a creative way to deal with the economy and some of the communication that's created this challenge for all of us in the fashion industry," says Kamali.
    With enough exposure for her new ideas, Kamali hopes to start a revolution in fashion marketing.
    "I'm not a genius, but I figured out a few things, and I just want to present them to say, 'I want to open a door,' and maybe a whole bunch of other people will come through the door with me and help find new solutions to the way we do business in the fashion industry," says Kamali.
    New York's Fall Fashion week ended on September 18.
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