Steve Landis remembers, (being) "excited to be personally picked by fashion designer Norma Kamali in late 1980, to do her image campaign for her new "Sweats" line. This collection had a revolutioinary impact, by merging athletic wear with designer fashion style. The results were very positive.  The campaign debuted in January 1981 with a series of ads in WWD, followed up by huge press coverage of her line.

I originally met Norma Kamali through WWD while shooting an 'advance preview'of her sweats line of fashions for the newspaper. She liked the style of my work on the WWD shoot, and consequently offered me the job of shooting her image photos for the launch of her new line. I'd known her work before especially her wonderful bathing suits. In her boutique, I'd seen a great series of black and white photos of Elite model Rita Tellone, shot at the beach by photographer (later turned fine artist-painter) Robert Lambert. Robert and I would later meet and become friends in Paris in 1984.

The models met at Steve's apartment, to get ready and dressed for the shoot. Steve and the girls walked to the location which is a walkway below Carl Shurtz Park on the upper east side of Manhattan.  Steve shot with a Nikon Fm camera body and a Nikkor 200mm F2 lens. He used tri-x film developed by Gar Lillard at Lab One. Steve remembers having trouble getting the girls to concentrate and getting their feet synchronized in step together.   That's why photographers shoot more than one roll of film, especially on movement and or group shots.  Fortunately, they got it right perfectly on this frame. and that was always Steve's favorite shot from the whole campaign. Another shot that same afternoon of model, Lisa Vale, was taken just a little further south by steps leading off of the walkway, with the East River behind.   It was the first ad from the series to be published in WWD on January 7, 1981.

About the photographer . .
Steve Landis has travelled through many parts of the world during a career in professional photography incorporating the areas of photojournalism, fashion, beauty, and celebrity portrait photography for major publications for over 25 years.  Steve has turned his life over to Yeshua the Messiah, (Jesus the Christ) and now primarily photographs weddings, family and executive portraits, and no longer participates in the fashion world. 

"I have been greatly blessed during my life and give the glory and thanks to Yeshua for a renewed life of peace and joy," states Landis. 

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