For today’s Style File Friday, I am dipping back into designers with a spotlight. American designers tend to do lighter looks very well. I am not sure if it is because North American summers tend to be more intense, or is simply just a difference. In any case, it is the time for light attire. Today I’m sharing a brief history of Norman Norell, a US contemporary of Cristobal Balenciaga and Christian Dior!
Who Is Norman Norell?
Norman Norell was an American fashion designer who was born in 1900 in Indiana and died in 1972 of a stroke. Born as Norman David Levinson, he took the last name Norell publicly in the early 1920s.
Norell’s father was a haberdasher, so like many other designers of the period, he was incredibly comfortable with fabric and fashion.
Costume Designing
After going to Parsons School of Design to study fashion illustration, he went to the Pratt Institution to study fashion design. By 1922, he was working for Paramount Pictures as a costume designer. He worked with film stars such as Rudolph Valentino and also designed for Broadway productions. Norell continued to work as a costume designer until his death in the 1970s.
Traina-Norell to Norell
In the 1920s, Norell worked for designer Hattie Carnegie before branching out. He created the Traina-Norell label with wholesale clothing manufacturer Anthony Traina. The label was known for elegant but detailed pieces that were not easily dated.
In 1960, he established the house of Norell. The designer had amassed an impressive client base, including Jackie Kennedy and Lauren Bacall. And although it seems to be a fairly obvious choice now, Norell was the first designer to launch his own fragrance in 1968.
Were you familiar with the history of Norman Norell?
Cheers,
The Historian
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