Movies are a formative part of the American psyche. Historically, their influence has perhaps been strongest when times are rough; there are innumerable stories of people who found escapism and/or a reason to keep pushing forward for the price of a nickel or a dime at a theater. The fourth edition of Vogue World will take on Hollywood, in October; Norma Kamali arrived there early with her richly-hued, playful, even slightly decadent resort collection.
Kamali asked a rhetorical question on our walk-through: “What’s the point where American fashion came into its own? To me, it’s really the classic films of the ’20s, ’30s, ’40s, ’50s. I was thinking about how these films really are not celebrated as our fashion history. There was Vogue, there were fashion magazines, but they were very elitist. My mother and her contemporaries would go to the films to see hairstyles and styles to wear—that’s how they would learn about fashion, makeup, everything. And so I was thinking, I don’t want to do vintage retro, but the spirit of classic American fashion is alive and well on every red carpet; the spirit of it has never gone away, it’s part of who we are.”
Kamali inherited a film fascination that goes all the way back to the black-and-white era, from her mother. This collection has a section devoted to both of these hues. The designer tells a sort of winter wonderland story with the whites, pairing faux fur with sequins that have the diamond glitter of fresh fallen snow, and there’s a whiff of Mae West-voluptuousness to a series of intricately patterned sequins on mesh. This group includes slender column dresses and what looks like lingerie briefs and panties, but which are in fact swimsuits. Why not bring a little bit of Hollywood glamour to the pool? Film noir meets punk in jersey pieces with patterns traced by hundreds of hand-applied silver safety pins. The majority of the collection, however, borrows its palette of deep emerald green and garnet-red from a jewelry box. As Kamali put it: “We can appreciate black-and-white in moments, but we see so much more. And now with everything else [like AI] we’re going to see even deeper.” In this designer’s hands a Jean Harlow-style bias-cut gown becomes a technicolor dream.
Graphic color-blocked second-skin activewear pieces added a Bladerunner / Kill Bill aspect to the offering, but the stars of the show are the long dresses, especially Kamali’s take on the all-over sequin “mermaid dresses” that were once favored by Lauren Bacall and Marilyn Monroe. Bias-cut columns with slit-open bat-wing sleeves also deliver Hollywood glamour (along with a riotous red Marcel-waved wig). “This is my tribute to classic films,” Kamali said, “the attitude of this elegance that’s classic and timeless.”