NYC "City Catwalk" with DVF, Norma Kamali and Prabal Gurung

“Good Things Happen Out of Authenticity” – Diane Von Furstenberg

Last night I had the pleasure of going to the New York Times Center for a talk called “City Catwalk” with designers Diane Von Furstenberg (DVF), Norma Kamali and Prabal Gurung, together with Fern Mallis – widely credited as the creator of NYC Fashion Week – and NY Times fashion reporter, Eric Wilson, who served as the moderator.

Every now and again, a really fun occasion will come along that is beneficial both personally and professionally. This was definitely an event that falls into both categories, and I brought along with me a student I mentor who is in the International Trade and Marketing baccalaureate program at SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Needless to say, she was thrilled to accompany me!

City Cat Walk is an on-the-street public display of designer creations on mannequins throughout the garment district. These 3 designers, along with 29 others, are participating in the City Cat Walk event which runs until early September.

The designers began by describing their inspiration for their mannequins. Starting with Belgian born DVF, she described the leopard print as being “timeless” and mentioned that women like to feel “feline.” The audience loved that comment! For this reason, she opted to have her mannequin covered in a purple leopard print.

American born Norma Kamali described her inspiration as being that of technology and traced back across the years to the beginning of her career after graduating from SUNY’s Fashion Institute of Technology. Her mannequin has various bar codes on it that can be scanned by mobile phones for a chance to win prizes, and to see other designs of hers, which I thought was a pretty technologically savvy concept.

Nepalese born Prabal Gurung described the inspiration for his mannequin as being derived from the late Steve McQueen, to whom he wanted to pay tribute to, as McQueen had been someone whose styles had inspired the development of Prabal’s own sense of fashion design. His mannequin has multiple white butterflies around its head with one red butterfly on the side.

Each of the designers then described their own approach to fashion. DVF explained that by making the “wrap dress” out of a jersey fabric back in the 1970s, which is a dress with no buttons or zippers, it made a stylish dress even sexier for women, both in that era and to this day. The dress has transcended multiple generations and as she described it, it is a “first.” That is, a first sign of success (which I whole heartedly agree with), and she likened it to the emotional equivalent of a first job, as well as – and I quote – the “first time you get laid.”

Norma shared a story about camping as a young adult and how at that time she realized she wanted to make a coat out of a sleeping bag. From that incident, arose her infamous “sleeping bag coat” which has been a hit since 1975. As DVF described this coat, it is utilitarian and emotional, and for these reasons women love it.

Prabal, being the newest designer of the bunch, shared his belief that “a job well done is when you find an audience who loves what you do, and you do it with passion.” He was clear about how much he enjoys what he does, namely, being able to live his thoughts and dreams, and to make them a reality.

Lastly, there was a discussion around “Made in the USA” and maintaining some semblance of a garment industry here. 95% of Prabal’s merchandise is made right here in NYC, with the remaining 5% being an importation of cashmere from his home country of Nepal. Norma, likewise, manufactures in the USA, and DVF participates in endeavors to help maintain the integrity of the systems in place, including infrastructure, and the development of new ventures, such as the Vogue Fashion Fund.

As for my lasting impression of the three of them, in word or two, I would describe each in the following way:

Norma Kamali – the philanthropist

Prabal Gurung – a rising star

Diane Von Furstenberg – a humorous inspiration

Questions/comments? Post below or email me at clark.deanna@gmail.com