# Norma Kamali: Norma Kamali

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2021-02-01
- Length: 1h 30m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali

## Summary

Fashion designer Norma Kamali explains how she built a 50-year career by leveraging cheap airline travel to source London fashion, opening a secret boutique, and creating iconic products like the sleeping bag coat and the red swimsuit popularized by Farah Fawcett. After leaving her husband Eddie Kamali and the original business with only $98, she restarted with a licensing deal with Jones Apparel for her sweatwear line, later partnering with Walmart to reach mass markets while maintaining quality control. Kamali discusses her philosophy of comfort, her early adoption of e-commerce, and her perspective on aging and longevity in the fashion industry.

## Chapters

- [0:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=24) Introduction: Norma Kamali and the Birth of American Fashion
- [5:03](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=303) Early Life, FIT, and the Airline Job
- [14:18](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=858) London Fashion and Opening the First Store
- [34:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=2053) Hot Pants, Celebrities, and the Sleeping Bag Coat
- [55:52](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=3352) Divorce, Bankruptcy, and Starting Over with $98
- [1:03:27](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=3807) Licensing with Jones Apparel and the Sweatwear Revolution
- [1:15:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=4539) Walmart Partnership and E-Commerce Strategy
- [1:22:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali#t=4920) Aging, Longevity, and the Future of Fashion

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Industrial & consumer product design](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/industrial-design)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Norma Kamali (product)
- Sleeping Bag Coat (product)
- Jones Apparel (company)
- Walmart (company)
- Farah Fawcett (other)
- Bette Midler (other)
- Smithsonian Museum (other)
- FIT (other)
- Northwest Orient Airlines (company)
- Dandies (product)
- Vogue (other)
- Bazaar (other)
- Time magazine (other)
- Bloomingdale's (company)
- Woman's Wear Daily (other)
- Halston (other)
- J. Crew (company)
- Neiman Marcus (company)
- Gap (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [006: Customizable swimwear with Kelsey Duffy of Versakini](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-04-19-006-customizable-swimwear-with-kelsey-duffy-of-versakini) (Product Startup)
- [021: Using Public Research to Develop WINK Lash and Brow Oil with Megan Cox of Amalie Beauty](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-10-04-021-using-public-research-to-develop-wink-lash-and-brow-oil-with-megan-cox-of-am) (Product Startup)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2021-02-01-norma-kamali-norma-kamali. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to How I Built This.