Norman Norell and the Invention of American Elegan
On October 16, 1972 the Metropolitan Museum of Art honored American fashion designer Norman Norell with a one-night career retrospective spanning five decades. It was a fitting location to pay tribute to Norell–it had been in the museum’s Great Hall in 1943 that the Mayor of New York City, Fiorello LaGuardia, presented the designer with a gilded bronze “Winnie,” the first time The Coty American Fashion Critic’s Award was given.
Loyal clients including Babe Paley, Lady Bird Johnson, Lauren Bacall and Lyn Revson lent their favorite garments to the exhibition. Among the nearly 750 guests were colleagues, clients and friends who flew in from all over the country.
Marian Pritzker, wife of billionaire Hyatt founder Jay Pritzker, flew from Winnetka, Mrs. Barney Goodman who was buying Norell designs from Hattie Carnegie in the 1930’s came from Kansas City and Riva Taubman, wife of Alfred Taubman, the former owner of Sotheby’s arrived from Detroit. Fellow designers Pauline Trigère, Donald Brooks, Victor Costa and Halston were in attendance to applaud the career of the man known as the “American Balenciaga.” The only person not present was the guest of honor himself.
The day before, on October 15th, the 72-year-old designer suffered a massive stroke from which he would never recover. Norman Levinson, born in the last year of the 19th century, died ten days later on October 25, 1972 as Norman Norell - perhaps the most important American fashion designer of the 20th century.
Nearly a half century later, the late designer is once again being honored, this time with the Museum at FIT’s large-scale retrospective “Norell: Dean of American Fashion,” organized by guest curator Jeffrey Banks and the museum’s deputy director Patricia Mears. Banks, a two-time Coty Award-recipient, along with Doria de La Chapelle, co-authored Norell: Master of American Fashion (Rizzoli), which has been released in tandem with the exhibition.
“Norell definitely changed the perception of how American ready-to-wear was both viewed and made,” said Banks. “Using couture techniques... he unequivocally raised the bar for quality production and fabrications, paving the way for designers that followed like Bill Blass, Geoffrey Beene and Donald Brooks.”
As the first American designer to have his own name on a dress label, Norell’s attention to detail - and understanding of what women wanted - was legendary. Known for his versatility, he could conceptualize coats, suits and dresses so well-made, that individual pieces were worn over several decades by his discerning and fashionable clients.
“He gave American fashion a sophisticated point of view,” says couture designer Ralph Rucci. “He made gold look neutral!” During the height of Norell’s career in the 1960’s his jersey dresses sold for $500, coats and suits for between $1,600 and $2,100, and iconic sequined mermaid dresses, in every color imaginable, for $4,000.
Although he began work in the early 1920’s as a costume designer for Paramount Pictures, it wasn’t until 1960 that Norell would show under his own name. For the previous two decades he had been in partnership with Anthony Traina, designing for their Traina-Norell label.
This solo collection, according to fashion designer Kenneth Pool, was the “magical” moment for Norell. “The theme was ‘Glamorous 20s.’ It was a critical and commercial success. It really put him on the map - beautiful beaded mermaid gowns, the culotte suit, amazingly tailored coats and suits.”
Fifty-two of the approximately 100 garments in MFIT’s retrospective, in fact, come from Pool who has collected and preserved Norell’s work for over a decade. “Mr. Norell’s work was untouchable. The best quality, the best fabrics and lasting, clean styles.” Pool’s affinity for Norell began, as he puts it, “a hundred years ago.”
Norell, along with Donald Brooks, were the two evening wear critics during Pool’s third year at Parsons School of Design. “I begged Anne Keagy, head of the Fashion Department, to please let me work with Mr. Norell since I loved his clothing so much. He invited me and several students to his showroom and donated fabrics for our design project. I was given navy and off-white wool jersey from European fabric house Racine. I made a simple, long bare bi-color gown.”
While the exhibition at MFIT showcases an incredible selection of garments, the monograph by Banks and de La Chapelle - the first comprehensive survey of Norell’s career - chronicles the full breadth of his work and contribution to American fashion. A forward by Rucci details the intricate construction process of a Norell garment, from fabric choice to the mounting of a sleeve and precision placement of a collar.
“He would show his adeptness with a flou through organza, chiffon, and georgette,” wrote Rucci, “tucking, pleating, smocking, and ruching, often finishing a dress with a fourteen-inch hem giving it weight and balance.”
Of the well-timed yet ominous 1972 event finale, The New York Times reported, “The bravos resounded off the rafters at the Metropolitan Museum of Art last night as the stage filled with dozens of gleaming sequined dresses in every shade from silver to dark green. A radiating mass of lights, the dresses formed the finale of the first retrospective showing of fashions by Norman Norell, a designer for 50 years.”
As an homage to that legendary moment, Banks, who was there that evening, explained, “It was dazzling! We have tried to re-create something of that dazzle in the center of the main exhibition space with a plethora of sequined mermaid [gowns] underneath a hand-welded Swarovski crystal chandelier.”
For Rucci, however, the biggest takeaway from the exhibition transcends the objects on display. “It’s about the idea of dignity within the profession... of refinement and the mastery of technique.”
Buy Now Norell: Master of American Fashion
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