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The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
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Norisol Ferrari Debuts at New York Fashion Week

By Della Hasselle | February 14, 2012 4:13pm

UPPER WEST SIDE — Norisol Ferrari had a packed house Tuesday morning as spectators crowded to see the young designer's debut presentation at New York Fashion Week.

For her fall/winter 2012 collection, Ferrari said she was most inspired by the determined women of New York — fierce females who insisted they could be feminine and ferocious.

Viewers should think of "Jean Harlow meets Tina Turner in Mad Max," Ferrari said.  "For fall 2012, I am exploring the seductive power of glamour and using it as a coat of armor.

Parts of her "coat of armor" include leather, fur, velvet and spikes and chains on fancy headdresses. She also used stretch fabrics and men's suit coats, but said that her favorite fabric to work with is leather. Her alligator jacket, nicknamed "Dawn," is versatile enough to be both tough and soft — the epitome of what she's trying to achieve with her line.

"I think that when you're a woman and you're walking down the street there is an air of strength that you absolutely must have, and we all know that as New Yorkers," she said. "But I don't think it means you have to lose your femininity. And that's what I try to protect."

The designer grew up in New York in the 1980s and was nurtured by "drag queens and nightlife impresarios."  She said she knows what it means to be "independent and self-defined," launching her own collection in 2009 after interning around the globe at places such as Carol Little Furs and Gas Jeans in Italy.

Now, as she introduces her new line, she hopes to bring her experiences and admiration of tough women to a broader audience.

Her favorite "armor" to wear is the "Jedi leather pants and my Dawn alligator jacket with sable lining," Ferrari told DNAinfo during the show. "That look is definitely just my go-to."

"I love the fact that I can sit and do yoga in those leather pants because the knees articulate," she added.

"It can be raining, snowing, freezing and she [Dawn] takes care of me," she added. "It's sort of like my get-through-everything outfit."