Amid the fast-and-furious game of creative director musical chairs dominating the fashion world, one woman remains a constant—as she has for over 55 years. That’s Norma Kamali, the Manhattan-born designer who, at the age of 78, is just as energetic and bubbling with ideas as she was when she first opened her boutique on East 53rd street in 1967.
Fashion remains a cornerstone for Kamali, who continues to put out four collections a year, but somehow, the designer has been finding time between all that to explore her other, non-aesthetic interests as well. These days, she has turned her attention to medicine and technology—specifically artificial intelligence—and the ways in which the fashion industry can benefit from such advancements. While many septuagenarians give up any attempt to grasp modern technology the second they’re faced with an iPhone screen, Kamali is not only embracing change, but fueled by it. This year, she enrolled in a course at MIT to learn about generative AI from the experts, returning to her new SoHo headquarters upon completion with a company-wide game pla