“When I think of luxury, I always try to make it easy to wear so that the style doesn’t become so precious you only wear it once, twice or a few times for special occasions,” the voiceover of Norma Kamali said during a video of her resort collection.
For the resort season, Kamali proposed dressed-up ideas (in silhouette and print) with her signature ease. There were digital jewel print-emblazoned dresses and tops, as well as their standout 3D embellished counterparts on sheer mesh tanks, plus rich holiday-centric cable-knit and plaid fashions, which also were digitally printed.
“The prints look so real and the benefit of the fabric being year-round and easy to care for is the game changer, combining both,” she said.
The look: Timeless takes on Kamali new and archival signatures, with fun new prints and dressed-up silhouettes.
Quote of note: “Whether for the holiday celebrations to winter parties and resort travel, every category is covered, from dresses, gowns, swimwear, active sportswear, suiting, coats and bridal,” Kamali said. “We’re archiving 55 years. I just started to look through the archive and realized the styles feel more relevant now than when I first fit them! There’s something about it, it’s been an interesting adventure,” Kamali said of the resurgence of the ruched Diana slipdress, sculptural dresses, and Butterfly, Snake and Zig-Zag silhouettes.
Key pieces: Sparkly jewel-embroidered sheer mesh tanks (and matching, digitized renditions); a ruched Diana slip in silver lame; cable-knit and plaid digitally printed outerwear (the idea was also offered in plenty of mix-and-match, head-to-toe styles); a Snake mesh crop capri jumpsuit; endless optimistic occasion dresses (like a wing-hip, floor-length number or asymmetric strapless digital bijoux-printed frock); denim pants and jackets, which Kamali claimed was the perfect base to luxury style.
The takeaway: The collection not only offered versatility for dressing up and feeling good, but was designed with an emphasis on providing luxury at a contemporary price point.
“What I really see and hear most is that when people, whether it’s wearing the Diana [or another piece, they have] a good time in it, because it felt good and made them feel happy. We’re in such a dark period that anything that makes you feel happy or wearing something that can change your mood makes it valuable in a way that I never really thought of fashion before, to be honest. People talked about it, but I authentically believe now if people don’t have a lot of money and can afford to buy something to change their mood, then that’s a really important purchase. With rents going up and food more expensive, I’m really conscientious about being a designer but at a contemporary price point. That’s where I think you can reach more people to affect that feeling of feeling good,” Kamali said.
