Norman the Conqueror

Wearing baubles, bangles and basic black, the guests seemed a chain of paper dolls, cut out along dotted lines and attached by tabs to the proper gilt chair. Chums for an instant, they crossed their silken legs as one, juggled cigarettes and sipped champagne. Rivals in fact, the 145 department store executives, buyers and fashion journalists who jammed the salon were on hand for the showing of Norman Norell's fall collection. The last of Manhattan's month-long season, it was also, as nearly always, the best.

Outside the trade, not everyone has heard his name. For Norell is concerned with style, not the spotlight, and with grace, not gimmicks. Never fussy without purpose, his talent lies in taste and a discriminating eye, in a flair for fabric and a sense of color, in a subtle bit of seamwork, an intricate set of pleats, a bead, a button, some spangles, a feather. Norell is neither set in his ways, like Mainbocher, nor out to amaze like Rudi Gernreich (of the topless-suit Gernreichs). He is a fashion moderate in step with the day, inventive but practical, inspired but patient. His virtues have paid off in a long line of fashion hits: the evening shirtwaist, the empire look, the chemise, the wool evening dress, the sequined sheath and culottes.

Last week's collection combined the standard and the special: a coat, a dress, and long jersey stockings to match; quilted linings for storm coats; a smock over tights; a sable muff any sable would envy. Biggest news were the new culottes, tighter and more hippy, and a spate of long pants, from grey flannel trousers for day to bugle-beaded pajamas for play. Prices: $900 for a suit, $850 for a coat.

A mild-mannered man, Norell, 64, collects French antiques, steers clear of the jet set, counts Lady Bird Johnson, Lena Home and Dinah Shore as steady patrons, Lauren Bacall, Carol Channing and Lee Remick as friends as well. Less dramatic than Balenciaga and less subtle than Givenchy, he is the only U.S. designer Paris couturiers admit to their league. Some go so far as to rank him with Dior. No other U.S. designer, in Paris' view, can make that claim.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.