freshjuju:

budgetcouture:

black is beautiful.

Lovely 

(via freshjuju-deactivated20130217)

Norma Kamali—-An American Designer who took major risk and was one of many who used street wear style as an inspiration for her design aesthetic.  She graduated from FIT in 1964 with a degree in fashion illustration.  She began designing clothes in the 60’s experimenting with materials such as appliqued leather, lizard and snakeskin.  However, in the 70’s her flair for design evolved and she became one of the first and labeled risk takers in many fashion categories.  She used a lot of alternative fabrics such as a silk parachute for the jumpsuit; the notorious sleeping bag was used to make a coat. In addition she redefined the use of the sweat suit material that was typically reserved for athletic wear.  

Norma Kamili was not afraid to take risk when it came to fashion.  She has made many innovative fashion contributions to the industry!  Norma was also one of the designers for my favorite TV show, The Wiz.  When I found out that she helped design some of the costumes for this classic TV show I had to blog about her.  Another reason for writing this blog post is that during one of my thrifting trips I found a vintage 80’s floral maxi skirt (Shown Above) which was the catalyst for the research.  

One last thing…Did you know she was also behind the shoulder pad movement! Now, if you know me you will know how much I despise shoulder pads!  However, after researching and learning more about this designer and her contributions, I think I may have found a new respect for the infamous shoulder pads!  

Later

Peace and More Thrifting

Source: Vintagefashionguild.org