Friday, October 25, 2002, 12:00 a.m. Pacific
Over coffee with Nicole Normandin: Designer has cinched personalized belt market
By Pam Sitt Seattle Times staff reporter
Belts are making a comeback.
From runways to school hallways, the fashion-conscious are draping their midsections with suede, fringe, rhinestones and rings.
Into the fray comes L.A.-based designer Nicole Normandin, who made her favorite accessory using a picture of her mother. Normandin, who designs under the name Nic Norman, took her personalized approach to the masses and has sold more than 100 custom-made belts since opening for business in July.
Her collections will be launched in Nordstrom stores this weekend, where Normandin will appear Friday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the downtown Seattle store and Saturday at Southcenter Mall. Look for her belts in upcoming episodes of "Friends," "Gilmore Girls," "Ed" and "Crossing Jordan," or check out www.nicnorman.com.
Here's what the up-and-coming designer had to say during a phone chat from Los Angeles last week.
Q: Why belts?
A: I originally wanted to do handbags. I was taking this illustration class, and a friend asked for one of my illustrations. Rather than give it to her in a regular frame, I decided to put it in a belt buckle. People started accosting her on the street and in stores saying, "Where did you get that?"
Q: Describe your favorite belt.
A: My favorite belt is of my mother, which is actually sold in stores now. It's a picture of her in 1968 where she's sitting on top of a refrigerator and has one of the bouffant hairdos, and she had this smeared-on blue eye shadow. It looked like something out of a fashion magazine, and I just decided to put it on a belt. I had it in my sample box as an example of a custom belt, and the stores said, "I love that one, can we have that one?" ... The thought of my mother on the waists of people walking down the streets of L.A. and New York is just so amusing to me.
Q: Do you feel naked without a belt?
A: Yeah, because of the kind of pants I wear. With hip huggers you kind of have to wear a belt. They ride so low, so you literally feel naked without a belt. ... Unless I'm in my pajamas, I'm wearing a belt.
Q: Tell me about your belt collections.
A: The slinky collection is inspired by the cocktail-lounge era of the '60s, and then the urban collection is sort of influenced by more streetwear and street scenes, cars and buildings. And then I have a custom feature called "Belt Me!" I can either transpose an original photo on a belt or do an artistic interpretation, through like an Andy Warhol effect, sort of turn it into pop art.
Q: What do people ask you to put on their belt buckles?
A: Their baby, their house, a boat, a car, a pet. I had a customer who was doing some belts as gifts for groomsmen, and he wanted each of their names on the belt buckles. He asked for cheese on one of the belts because the guy likes cheese. I made his name in a Swiss-cheese font.
Pam Sitt: 425-745-7806 or psitt@seattletimes.com. Copyright © 2002 The Seattle Times Company