Norma Kamali

Norma Kamali is credited with innovations that have influenced fashion globally over the 57 years of her business.

She has invented many firsts in fashion, including the sleeping bag coat in 1973, sweats as ready-to-wear fashion in 1980, influential swimwear, and active sportswear as a lifestyle in the 80s. Her collections are always washable and easy care, embodying an easily adaptable approach to sustainability.

Kamali’s fascination with technology has been a constant throughout her career. QR codes have been a part of her window displays and installations in her store. She invented “try before you buy,” allowing clients to have a box sent to them with a selection of clothing, where they only pay for what they keep—this was before cell phones and e-commerce. Her website today features all of her collections, as well as the Normalife brand for skincare and scent, and her home collection.

She is a proponent of a healthy lifestyle and livestreams her workouts with her staff for all to join in globally. Her book, "I Am Invincible," is a handbook for women covering fitness, health, beauty, and style, as well as best practices for aging with power. Kamali's podcast, N O R M A K A M A L I F E. The podcast features engaging conversations she has with people in fields of interest, sharing stories on topics such as health, fashion, beauty, technology, fitness, dance, music, women and power, aging with power, business and entrepreneurship, survival and determination, comedy, and meditation.

Kamali has actively been exploring the opportunities that AI can offer her brand. She has been passionate about technology since her first job at Northwest Orient Airlines as a reservations operator. She trained on a UNIVAC computer in 1964 and set up a website in the mid-nineties. She was one of the first in fashion and e-commerce on eBay.

In June 2023, Kamali enrolled in a generative AI course online, live from MIT. She came away from the course even more energized and inspired by the experience. This marks the beginning of yet another new chapter in her career, which she feels may be the most transformative.