Apolitical Prabal Gurung is not. During the last presidential election cycle, for spring 2020 Gurung posed the question: Who gets to be an American? This time around the question might be, Can a woman of Jamaican and Indian heritage become America’s first female president? It was clear what Gurung hopes the answer will be even before he took a bow in a t-shirt that read VOTE on the front and Harris/Waltz on the back: Note the minidress with a beaded coconut tree and the brown-and-white “coconut paillettes” (look 9).
The state of America had been weighing heavily on Gurung’s mind, he explained in a pre-show interview. Asking himself when was the last time he felt free, Gurung found an answer in the Hindu festival of Holi, a celebration of colour, love, and spring. One of the customs of this celebration is the throwing of coloured powders. The collection was well underway when Harris became the Democratic nominee, but Gurung, who has dressed the Vice President on several occasions, found a way to mix politics and piety, by sending a cadre of models in “suffragette” white out at the end of the show. Perhaps it was the wind, but the pink pigment that was thrown into the air, presumably to colour the garments, left hardly a mark on the clothes. Several crystal beaded numbers (looks 24 and 25) give a better idea of the desired splatter effect. That was also the intent also of a double-faced print with splashes on one side and polka-dots on the other.
The marriage of Eastern and Western clothing tradition is a constant preoccupation for Gurung, one that he explored especially beautifully for spring 2024, and which he returned to this season starting with look one, denim/wool sari pants paired with a pleated tank. There were shorts versions and sherwani-inspired jackets. Of note were the sari/Grecian hybrid gowns that play with the earthy goddess look that is very much of the moment. Taking things in another, more classically American direction were bubble-skirted numbers and a printed set, mini dress and coat, that owed something to Bill Blass, where Gurung worked for a time.
Maybe it’s because the designer has launched Prabal Gurung Atelier, the dressy looks were, happily, less grand. Even more encouraging is to see how the designer employs craft to zhuzh-up pieces that could fit into, or are inspired by, a daytime wardrobe. There were sharp denim trousers, and any number of floaty tops, some tank-shaped. The suiting was strong and the sheer-to-opaque knits were a nice surprise. Note must be made of all the handwork that went into the pieces, notably the light-as-air chiffon plissés. While there were many beautiful individual pieces, the collection would have benefited from a tighter edit. It was easier to suss out where Gurung stands politically than to take away a clear point of view from this line up; still his message of hope and optimism came through loud and clear.
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Look 1
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Look 2
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Look 3
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Look 4
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Look 9
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Look 21
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Look 22
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Look 23
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Look 24
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Look 25
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