Can you get better with age? For a “yes” example, consider the remarkable career of Norman Norell. Norell launched his namesake label at the age of 60 where he created some of the most influential and forward-thinking pieces of the era.

Born Norman Levinson in Noblesville, Indiana, his father was a haberdasher who opened a successful hat shop in Indianapolis in the teens. In 1919 he moved to New York and enrolled at the Parsons School for Design to study fashion illustration subsequently studying fashion design at the Pratt Institute. After graduation, Norell began his career designing costumes for Paramount Pictures. When the company relocated to California, Norell opted to stay in New York where he joined one of the premier designers of the era, Hattie Carnegie, in 1928. She would regularly travel to Paris and bring back trunks of couture clothes. Norell would spend his time deconstructing the pieces to learn the secrets of their couture finishes. This step in his development as a designer was crucial. He would bring these techniques to all the ready-to-wear clothes he designed; offering women a custom fit for off-the-rack prices. When Norell and Carnegie fell out in 1941, he partnered with Anthony Traina, a clothing manufacturer who ran the business while Norell designed the clothing. Traina-Norell became the go-to fashion house for wealthy socialites who fell in love with the fit and attention to detail in his enduring designs.

When Traina retired in 1959, Norell took over ownership of the business and launched his namesake line in 1960. Like his designs under Traina-Norell, Norman Norell emphasized couture finishes in ready-to-wear ensembles. His knowledge of fitting the female form was unparalleled. He became famous for adding subtle, flattering touches to his designs. For example, Norell was known for designing coats with lines of tapering buttons that would widen as they went down the coat, creating an illusion of a smaller and more flattering bust and neckline. Unlike many designers of the time who had custom as well as ready-to-wear departments, Norell created lucrative partnerships with high-end department stores that exclusively carried his designs. Even his most ardent celebrity patrons had to go through department stores if they wanted to wear his designs.

His well-deserved success would last until his death from a stroke on October 15, 1972. His name may not be as well-known as other American designers however his legacy and impact are still felt today. Through his work at the Parsons School of Design, he mentored and encouraged a new generation of designers including Bill Blass and Halston. Like Joseph Haydn in music or a bottle of fine wine, Norman Norell only got better with age.

For a more in-depth look at Norell’s life and career, pick up Jeffery Banks’ biography Norell: Master of Fashion.