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If there were no Kamali, there’d be no Owens, no Wang, no Margiela. Quite simply, fashion would probably be in a pretty boring place had NYC-based fashion legend Norma Kamali chosen a career in, say baking or legal document translation rather than the craft of cloth. Thru her 40-plus year career, the innovative fashion designer has always looked to the future for ways to display her designs. During last weeks NY FW S/S ’12 shows (That’s New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2012 for the less than concerned), Kamali jettisoned the fleeting, and expensive runway show in exchange for a video loop presentation that had her dabbling- no, rather diving into the wonder that is 3-D technology.
Inspired by a viewing of Werner Herzog’s Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Kamali began designing her latest line, seemingly with the 3-D presentation in mind. At her morning presentation of the line, the designer explained how she was blown away by what Herzog had accomplished. According to Style.com, she stated, "It's not as exciting as Avatar, but I realized, 'Oh wow, you can really see that guy's shirt!'”
But she didn’t stop there. Kamali was so obsessive about the technology that she really began thinking about the effects it could have on e-commerce. And by-golly, she figured a way to sell clothing, online, in 3-D.
But there is always the question of those pesky, and let’s be honest, ugly 3-D paper glasses to contend with your perfectly tailored outfit. Well, Kamali didn’t miss a step, taking into account that until Apple and Microsoft polish off their fabled “glasses-free 3-D”, we’d have to make best of what’s available. So she fashioned her 3-D specs in the likeness of the iconic cat-eye frames she’s famous for. And you can order them for free. (But act fast. Since the announcement last week, an estimated 18,000 have been shipped).
Never before has something of this caliber been attempted by a fashion designer, let alone any brand dealing in e-commerce. But if history serves us, as it should, we’ll see this level of integration pouring out of fashion houses far and wide, continuing to copy the queen of avant garde.
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