For the resort season, Norma Kamali approached her collections with a smart, value-driven, easy-to-layer ethos.
“Fall was kind of more refined and quieter, but after fall, people are going to actually maybe even want animal print,” she said of the collection that displayed a wide array of holiday and takeaway wardrobing for the wide-reaching demographics of her global customers.
There were new 3D digitally printed cheetah and snakeskin motifs — animal print is certainly having a strong comeback this season — that were patchworked into almost every type of silhouette, ranging from party-ready pouffed shrugs to catsuits, tailoring and a solid array of dresses. Ditto velvet, gilded sequin and signature silver-studded, holiday-minded, head-to-toe looks.
“These sell in Saudi Arabia; they sell in Dubai. They sell everywhere and they’ve never not sold,” she said of the stud decorations, which extended from ready-to-wear into a new offering of great string bikinis and embellished Marissa maillots.
The looks were almost all layered up with catsuits, built-in bodysuits, gloves or belts — ideas the designer has been working into across recent seasons, as seen beneath power-mesh mermaid and ruffled frocks and skirts, or even a bodysuit version of her vegan patent leather double-breasted cropped trenchcoat. The option to style with or without sheer or solid underpinnings directly nodded to her customers’ desired levels of modesty, as well as destination-driven needs, with the bodysuits doubling as swimwear.
“We have all the components, it’s multiuse but really purposeful,” she said. Furthermore, those slinky sheer occasion gowns were designed with easy-to-cut-away hems, and will come with instructions for customers as to how to change up and experience their dress in a new way.
“If I’m going to design, it’s got to be at the right price and you have to be able to cut it up, wash it and do everything you can to it so you really get fun out of it,” she said.