Norell Fragrances and Neiman Marcus announced the winner of the Norman Norell Couture Design Award at The New School’s Parsons School of Design last week. Winner Anthony Galante was presented a $5,000 grant from Norell Fragrances, and his design will be showcased in the 2017 Neiman Marcus Christmas Book.
Inspired by the legacy of American designer Norman Norell and the new fragrance collection, the challenge tasked students with designing a modern interpretation of Norell’s heritage throughout the Spring 2017 semester. Galante designed a hand-sequined silk georgette gown. “I was inspired by Norell’s use of sequins,” Galante told us. “He was known for these amazing mermaid gowns. I wanted to work with sequins because I’ve never used them before and used them in a unique way…I really wanted to pay tribute to Norman Norell. Norman came from Indiana and I came from Illinois, so to see someone come from somewhere that isn’t New York and start a life and passion inspired me.”
Fourteen student designs were evaluated by a committee of judges including Michael Avedon, Jeffery Banks, Burak Cakmak, Ken Downing, Margaret Hayes, Donald Loftus, Ray Siegel, Jason Wu, and Parsons faculty.
“Redefining fashion’s future can only be achieved with a complete and comprehensive celebration of the past,” said Ken Downing, SVP fashion director at Neiman Marcus, in a press release. “It’s exciting to see Anthony Galante’s ability to translate the emotion, the vocabulary and the craft of Norman Norell’s legacy, while maximizing the invaluable industry experience made available to him during the course as he forges a new path into fashion’s future.”
As for future plans, Galante said that he would love to continue to work in womenswear “It’s all very new and fresh. I still have a lot to learn, so I would love to put my skills into a place I will love and respect.”
Galante’s winning Norell-inspired look will be available for purchase by special order in the Neiman Marcus Christmas Book debuting in Fall 2017. See pics from the evening below.
BY SERENA MINITER
Photography: Jon Erickson
