Norma Kamali on What Happens When You Ask For Help

9 to 5ish with theSkimm

theSkimm

Entrepreneurship, Careers, Business

4.7 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 6 August 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Norma Kamali started her career when women were expected to type memos in Mad Men-esque offices, not build their own empires. She came of age in 1960s New York City and since then, Norma's become one of the most influential names in fashion. Norma is responsible for iconic looks like Farrah Fawcett’s red swimsuit, the sleeping bag coat, and some of the earliest activewear, before “athleisure” was ever a thing. At 80-years-old, she’s showing no signs of stopping. In this episode of 9 to 5ish, Norma also shares: How a $29 flight and a basement boutique kicked off her career What it took to walk away from a toxic business – and marriage Why she took her brand to Walmart, even when people told her not to How learning to ask for help changed her life Why AI gives her a bigger creative high than anything else Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Race the rudder, raise the sails, raise the sales!
0:05.0	Captain, an unidentified ship approaching. Over.
0:07.0	Roger that. Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution?
0:13.0	Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors.
0:17.0	With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more.
0:21.4	To get £100 off your first campaign, go to LinkedIn.com slash lead to claim your credit.
0:26.6	That's LinkedIn.com slash lead. Terms and conditions apply.
0:31.1	If you need help, talk to people about it because there's somebody that can help you. Keeping it to yourself,
0:40.1	even if the situation you're in is humiliating and awful, is not going to help you. I'm Carly Zakin,
0:48.8	and I'm Danielle Weissberg. Welcome to 9 to 5-ish with the skin. We've run into so many questions over the years and had so many moments where we needed advice,
0:59.4	and we got it from women who'd been there.
1:02.9	And that's what we're bringing you at this show.
1:05.0	Each week, we're helping you get what you want out of your career by talking to the smartest leaders we know.
1:10.5	Because we know your work life is a lot more than 9 to 5.
1:15.1	All right, let's get into it.
1:19.6	Hi, everyone. Today's guest is designer Norma Kamali.
1:23.6	Norma came of age in 1960s New York City, a time when most women were expected to be
1:29.5	secretaries, not business owners. After studying fashion illustration at FIT, Norma landed a job
1:36.7	at an airline and used flight perks to travel to London nearly every weekend. She'd come back
1:42.7	with a suitcase full of clothes, which she started selling
1:45.8	in her own boutique with her then-husband, Mohamed Kamali. After a while, Norma designed her own
1:52.4	clothes to sell in the store, which eventually made up the majority of the inventory. But in the
	...

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