Prabal Gurung’s Luxury Brand With a Soul

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Over the past decade, Prabal Gurung has built his world-renowned brand from the ground-up. Since his debut Fall/Winter 2009 collection, his eponymous label has garnered an A-list clientele including the likes of former First Lady Michelle Obama, style icon Sarah Jessica Parker, supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio, and many, many more. But Gurung’s colorful fashion isn’t only for red carpet regulars–its universal appeal is rooted in the modern silhouettes, global influences, and empowering vision that pours from the designer. His achievements have recently been recognized at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery Gala where he was named its first Honorary Fashion Designer, and in the form of a new commemorative book. As Gurung celebrates the 10th anniversary of his brand, he revisits the formative and fabulous moments in a monograph full of reflection, inspiration, and, of course, fashion.

Prabal Gurung not only acts as autobiography–telling the designer’s story of boyhood in South Asia, emigrating to New York, and breaking into the fashion industry–but also as a time capsule of sketches, mood boards, and photographs that chart his creative journey. The visual elements show the tangible timeline of his history, while commentary on his collections, a forward by Parker, and recollections about standout, often star-studded moments (meeting and dressing Oprah Winfrey, for one) bring Gurung’s success story to life.

At the heart of it all is the Nepalese-American’s designer’s deep spirituality. From his Arundhati Roy-influenced debut collection to prayer flags that hung across his Spring/Summer 2019 runway, Gurung has imbued his fashion with a transcendent quality that has always been earnest. To convey that immateriality through something as tactile as clothes, he uses the eye-catching gowns and whimsical designs to spark dialogue about the human condition. “Spirituality is a common thread that affects and connects every human being,” Gurung tells CR. “What I try to do is make beautiful clothes that make people enticed and intrigued in the world, and then we can start a substantive conversation not only about fashion, but everything that impacts us.”

Wrapped in the spiritual ethos of Gurung’s work is also an inherent inclusivity. Flipping through the pages of his book, it’s apparent when looking at the diverse faces that grace his mood boards and catwalks. The designer calls his label a “luxury brand with a soul,” and this comes across most clearly in the broad representation that both fronts his fashion and is at work behind-the-scenes. “The fashion industry runs on minorities: LGBTQ’s and immigrants,” Gurung says. “And as a womenswear designer who’s business thrives because of women, when any of their rights are being challenged, I can’t keep quiet.”

As an artist, he lets his designs do the communicating, but as the trailblazer that he is, Gurung can’t help but be vocal. His outspokenness about politics, diversity, sustainability, and social responsibility comes from the shared experience that he believes everyone takes part in. “At the end of the day, we all leave this planet, and impermanence is the absolute truth of our lives,” Gurung reflects. “What are we going to leave behind?”

Besides his exuberant fashion and new book, Gurung answers his own question with the Shikshya Foundation Nepal, a non-profit he founded in his home-country to provide education in reading, arts, and culture to unprivileged children. While he describes his drive to design as a carnal desire, it’s the humanitarianism that fulfills him. “It’s not just about what you create and what someone wears,” Gurung says. “I believe there’s a spiritual connection between the work that you do which is obvious–for me, through fashion–and another through philanthropy. ” With this at his core, the designer has built a legacy on creativity, inclusivity, empathy, and soul.

Prabal Gurung is now available online and in bookstores.

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prev link: https://www.crfashionbook.com/fashion/a29850010/prabal-gurung-10th-anniversary-book/
createdAt:Tue, 19 Nov 2019 22:26:21 +0000
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