It was a moment that designer Prabal Gurung isn’t about to forget in a hurry. Just before the marathon US presidential campaign got underway, he bumped into Hillary Clinton at the launch of a book by couturier Diane von Fürstenberg. Gurung strode up to Clinton and introduced himself, and had an OMG moment when she replied: “I know who you are. You’re a fashion designer. I think from Nepal. My daughter wears your clothes.”

The designer’s a strong Clinton supporter and he quickly swung into action and designed a red T-shirt with flowers — the proceeds from the sales went to the Clinton campaign. “It’s simple but feminine and immediately sold out,” says the New York-based designer, who was born in Singapore and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal.

Gurung’s already globally famous as the designer to the rich and famous. Now, the designer, who studied at Delhi’s National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), is making a stylish splash in India by unveiling his Spring-Summer ’17 collection here for the first time at Le Mill, the Colaba concept store. He launched the collection at a glamorous soiree hosted by Cecilia Morelli Parikh, the co-founder of Le Mill, for Mumbai’s glitterati.

For Gurung it’s been a short ride to stratospheric heights. His label has made waves in a short time since it was first launched in February 2009, and his fans and customers include top celebrities like US First Lady Michelle Obama, The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, talk show host Oprah Winfrey and pop star Lady Gaga. Other trendsetters like actresses Jennifer Lawrence and Demi Moore have also slipped into his creations. Closer home, A-list Bollywood actresses including Deepika Padukone, Katrina Kaif and Priyanka Chopra have also been spotted in his outfits.

What’s the magic stardust that has taken 37-year-old Gurung to the top so quickly and made his brand a global success? In the world of fashion it’s reckoned that it’s his unique take on sophisticated and classic designs that have made him the go-to designer for a phalanx of celebrities. Instead of succumbing to the herd mentality and making trendy clothes that last only a season, the designer focuses on exquisitely-executed feminine silhouettes and glamorous eveningwear.  

“What works for Gurung’s creations are their universal quality and yet they’re reminiscent of the place the designer comes from,” says designer Rahul Mishra, who says that Gurung’s ability to successfully bridge the space between luxury and contemporary wear has made him a global superstar. 

Gurung’s currently on a high and is moving swiftly to win over India’s fashion cognoscenti. 

He reckons that this is the right time to make a bold entry into the domestic fashion scene since the market is becoming mature. “India went through a phase when the bag or label you carried became a validation of who you were. But that’s slowly changing and women are no longer feeling the need to flaunt brands. That’s the kind of woman I want to dress,” he says.

The New York-based designer’s turning his ambitious dreams into reality for the Indian market with his SS’17 collection. “For me, it was all about finding the right business partner, someone like Le Mill, that could really represent me well,” he says. Le Mill, the brainchild of Cecilia Morelli Parikh and Julie Leymarie, stocks up a host of high octane international brands including Alexander Wang and Balenciaga.

To cater to an evolving luxury designerwear market, the feminist designer has brought along a collection that’s both topical and stylish to boot. Gurung’s SS’17 collection offers stylish loose silhouettes, refined tailoring and detailing from Nepal.

What stands out in his India showcase are edgy pantsuits that are clearly a hat tip to Hillary Clinton’s favourite outfits. The designer says that this line was special. “I was developing the collection during a precarious time in the US when Hillary Clinton was running for president. This particular moment was really dear to me.” 

Clearly the designer’s casting his net wide and taking his label in new directions. Collaborating with multiple brands is also a big part of his business and he has been lending his name to several clothing and accessories labels. His most recent collaboration is with American retail women’s clothing store chain Lane Bryant, and it’s focused on a plus-size women’s collection, scheduled to come out in February 2017.  

Obviously Gurung has made a smart move by addressing women of bigger sizes through this partnership. Why plus-size women in an industry that’s obsessed with Size Zero? The designer recalls how he has watched slightly larger women at trunk shows looking almost longingly at outfits, wanting to try them but unable to fit in. “I always wanted to create a luxury brand with a soul. And soul translates into inclusion for me,” he declares.

The designer has also turned to his Nepalese roots this year for his collaboration with Toms, a company that’s known for designing and retailing eyewear and unique shoes that are inspired by the Argentine alpargata (a light, canvas shoe). The shoes are up for grabs in four styles that include snow leopard-patterned canvas slippers and fur-lined booties, in shades of black, red and white. 

The partnership with Toms is much more than a business transaction. It’s also aimed at raising money for the designer’s charity, the Shikshya Foundation Nepal. So for the purchase of every pair of Toms x Prabal Gurung shoes, Toms will donate $5 to the foundation. 

Simultaneously, the designer’s also riding high on the activewear craze that’s becoming the hottest fashion trend across the globe. In September, he launched his activewear label Prabal Gurung Sport, which throws in performance bras, long sleeve tees, neoprene bomber jackets and more. “While I design a plus-size collection, I also want to do an activewear line because I feel it’s important to have both these conversations.” 

Gurung acknowledges that his clothes also reflect a distinct Nepalese identity. “Being from Nepal is a part of who I am as a designer,” he says. The beautiful knits in his collections are handmade by local artisans in Nepal. 

In addition, his Spring 2017 jewellery was created by Nepalese craftsmen, as were his Resort 2017 slippers. 

But that’s hardly surprising. Nepal has shaped him as a designer and still exerts its hold over him. Although the designer doesn’t have a store/boutique in Nepal, he visits once a year. Gurung says that he understood the power of clothes, make-up and jewellery from a very young age. He still recalls how his mother would get ready to go out and he would be awestruck by her transformation.  

His family wholeheartedly backed his dream of becoming a designer and his first step was to enrol at NIFT. Then, came a spell with A-list couturier Manish Arora. 

Gurung says watching Arora at work stirred his dreams. “It was while I was working for Manish that I felt confident of my decision to move to New York,” he says. 

Gurung moved to New York in 1999 to study at Parsons The New School for Design. And it is in this city that he found his moment in the sun when he interned for Donna Karan while studying at Parsons. 

After graduating, Gurung spent two years with American fashion designer Cynthia Rowley’s design and production teams. Post that stint, he was appointed design director at the American fashion house Bill Blass, where he stayed for five years till he launched his own collection.

It must be said that the young fashion talent also has an enormous appetite for risk. After his time at Blass, he launched his own label in 2009 out of an apartment, and with zero outside funding. “We were in the midst of the recession, and while many encouraged me to wait for a better time, I decided to be unemployed and put everything behind the launch of my own label,” he says, with steely firmness.

Lady Luck was with him from the start. Although the presentation of his first collection was a low-key affair, he found he had made the cover of the fashion industry trade journal WWD (Women’s Wear Daily), which is often called the bible of fashion. “It’s a moment I’ll never forget. I called my family back home in Nepal,” he reminisces.

There’s been no looking back for the designer since. He keeps up a frenetic pace but insists he squeezes in downtime for himself. “Lately I feel like I’ve been going 24/7, but when I do catch a break, I love to read or explore museums and art galleries around the city,” he says. He elaborates that if he’s lucky enough to squeeze in some travel, and if he’s not going home to Nepal, he really likes coming to India and loves taking trips to London, Paris, Anguilla, or the South of France.

But currently he’s neck deep in work and is in the midst of designing his Pre-Fall 2017 and Fall 2017 collections, along with a few other special projects. “Right now, I’m most excited by the knits we are developing for Pre-Fall,” he says.
Obviously, there’s no time to slow down for the designer right now. And Gurung’s always up to facing new trials in life. “I want to challenge myself in new fields through new collaborations, products and projects. I want to take up things which I am scared to do, and get into areas where I might make a mistake. But I want to make a mistake,” he says.