Catch Up With Fashion Legend Norma Kamali’s & Her New Book Revelations!

"In 1970, an astrologer delivered some Earth-shattering news to then 25-year-old Norma Kamali.

“She said I was going to meet my soulmate at 65,” the fashion designer, now 75, told The Post. “I said, ‘No, no, no, no.’ ”

At the time, she was already married — to Eddie Kamali, an Iranian she had met at a club when they both won $500 in a dance contest. “OK, he was good-looking and we danced great together — it was obviously destiny, right?” she writes in her new book, “Norma Kamali: I Am Invincible” (Abrams), which is part-memoir, part-wellness handbook with tips on nutrition, exercise, aging and more.

But by 1975, she was divorced — and Kamali, who expected to prove the astrologer wrong, never wed again. She went on to become a trailblazing designer thanks to creations like her sleeping-bag coat and coveted swimsuits.

When she turned 65, her friend, hotelier Ian Schrager, introduced her to lawyer Marty Edelman. On Kamali’s 75th birthday last June, Edelman proposed. She calls him her “soulmate.”

“COVID, in some bizarre way, really brought us together — closer than we normally would be because he travels a lot, and I am always working,” she said. “There we were morning, noon and night, cooking together, having coffee in the middle of the day. We realized we liked each other a lot.”

They never discussed marriage over their previous decade of dating, but he put it in a birthday note. “He said, ‘If you’re not busy, we should do this,’ ” Kamali said.

Timing, she added, is everything. “We met at a point in our lives when we both felt so secure about who we were that we could give of ourselves in a way that is as close to unconditional as you can get,” she writes. In the book, she looks back on each decade and the wisdom she has acquired in love, life, health and work.

“I don’t want to be 20, 30 or 40 anymore,” Kamali said. “The reason I am enjoying 75 is because I am so much smarter than before.”

Born and raised on the Upper East Side, to a Lebanese mother and Basque father, Kamali (née Arraez) was an aspiring painter. But her mother steered her toward fashion illustration at Fashion Institute of Technology because it presented more practical career options — or so it would seem. After graduation, Kamali went on her first job interview, in the Garment District, and the man in charge asked her to stand up and turn around for him. She grabbed her portfolio and ran out.

Instead, Kamali landed a job with Northwest Orient Airlines in reservations. The perks included $29 round-trip tickets to London where she traveled almost every weekend, scouring vintage markets and shopping at now-legendary stores Biba and Bus Stop. In 1968, she and Eddie opened the boutique Kamali on East 53rd Street, selling clothing imported from London — and, eventually, her own designs. It drew luminaries like Robert Plant, Sly Stone, Bette Midler and John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

But she learned that Eddie was seeing other women, including one of her employees. “The concern I had constantly was having enough money to buy fabric. So seeing gifts of Rolex watches to the salesgirl was, needless to say, upsetting,” she writes. Kamali left the marriage and the business with only $98 in her pocket.

"In 1976, she launched her clothing line: OMO Norma Kamali, which stood for “On My Own.” She designed the iconic red swimsuit that Farrah Fawcett wore in a bestselling 1976 photo (the suit is now in the Smithsonian). She quickly gained attention, and sales, creating innovative designs that modern women wanted to wear.

In 1974, she was inspired to create her famous coat after a camping trip when she wrapped a sleeping bag around her body for a midnight bathroom break. It became popular with the likes of Cher, Elton John and the doormen at Studio 54. That same year, she reimagined a silk parachute, turning it into the ruched dresses that became her calling card. In 1980, she created a collection from gray sweatshirt material, predicting the decade’s twin obsession with fashion and fitness.

In her 40s, Kamali bought a townhouse near The Met and filled it with antiques. But at 50, she visited India for an astrology reading from a Brahmin priest. “The priest said, ‘You’ll be deciding to get rid of everything and cleaning out. That’s what you’re supposed to be doing on this birthday,’ ” she said. “I realized possessions were possessing me.” She sold the apartment, auctioned or gave away most of her belongings, and even ditched a boyfriend.

She now lives in a clean-lined West Village apartment.

Kamali, who looks decades younger than her age, has long been a health and fitness devotee. She meditates, does circuit training and loves barre classes. She also credits olive oil — which she uses as an ingredient in beauty products and slathers on food — as a secret to staying youthful. “I consume massive amounts of it every year,” she said.

She relies on acupuncture “face-lifts,” but said that sleep, diet and exercise are key. (She recommends a Mulberry silk pillowcase, saying it’s easier than cotton on both hair and skin.) As for diet, she ditched alcohol decades ago and eats a plant-based diet with intermittent fasting.

Being happy helps, too, of course. She is “not even close” to retiring and takes joy in her life with Edelman and his family. “I really enjoy interacting with his grandchildren,” she said. “The conversations are fun.”

And once the pandemic has quieted down, the couple plan to throw a giant dance party — after they quietly wed.

“We’re gonna say, ‘By the way, we’re married!’ and then just keep dancing.”" - Pagesix.com