HELLO! India Exclusive: Prabal Gurung's global fashion domination from Nepal to New York

Designer Prabal Gurung’s journey is a tapestry of resilience and unapologetic authenticity, one that’s taken him from the foothills of Nepal to the runways of New York. Sculptural lines and flowing drapes define his designs, where colours speak louder than words, strength marries softness, East meets West. “My aesthetic is a conversation, a dance between strength and sensuality, precision and poetry,” says Prabal, whose Nepali heritage is evident in his creations “in the way I layer fabrics like stories, in the bold colours that mirror temple flags, and in the spiritual intentionality behind each design… I don’t just create clothes; I tell ancestral stories in modern tongues.”

As a designer straddling continents, one would wonder where he feels most understood, most appreciated — India, Nepal, or the West — but to Prabal, his comfort zone materialises when he stops trying to be understood. “My work exists in the in-between, in the diaspora, in the silence between words, in the rhythm of multiple homes. I don’t choose sides. I stitch them together.”

AMERICA & ANNA WINTOUR

Prabal moved to NYC in 1999 to pursue his dreams at Parsons School of Design. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t promptly embraced by the American fashion industry, which “didn’t know what to do with me.” “They hadn’t encountered many people from my part of the world. I wasn’t the archetype they expected. I wasn’t White, I wasn’t subtle, I wasn’t safe. I was bold, queer, immigrant, political, emotional.” Finally, one powerful force recognised the talent he came with. Fashion royalty herself — Anna Wintour.

“Anna saw something in me long before the industry did. Her support was consistent, unwavering, and deeply powerful,” he smiles. “She stood by me, reminded me that I didn’t need to contort myself to fit into a room I could redesign instead. I wouldn’t be here without her.”

MILESTONES, HIS MOTHER & A MEMOIR

For those who live under the spotlight, surrounded by prying eyes and omnipresent flashes, there comes an invariable moment when they wonder whether they’ve “made it.” For Prabal, these are a tad different: “I have powerful, quiet, sometimes seismic moments where I feel the universe gently affirm that I’m on the right path. One such occasion was when Michelle Obama wore a red gown I designed to the White House Correspondents’ Dinner. It didn’t just place me on the map; it placed visibility on people from my part of the world.” In all these years of iconic designs and laurels, it’s the first dress he fashioned — a red dress cut in duchess satin and Taroni silk — that remains closest to his heart.

“It was worn by Zoe Saldana, a dear friend, for her first red carpet — and mine. It also got me the cover of Women’s Wear Daily when I launched my collection and even found its way to Oprah Winfrey… That dress didn’t just mark the beginning of my career; it gave life to my dreams.” It wasn’t just the dress, or his first red carpet that made it unforgettable; it was what inspired it — his mother. It’s from his mom that Prabal learned strength, to live with tenderness and dignity even when the world doesn’t make space for you.

“The dress was rooted in memory, in the sarees my mother wore with such elegance and ease. It was an homage to her, to where I come from… Every sketch I make is in conversation with my mother’s spirit. Her resilience lives in every stitch. Her values live in every silhouette.” Today, Prabal has captured his journey in his memoir, Walk Like a Girl. The title is dedicated to “the girls who’ve always carried the weight of the world with elegance,” and to all men “imprisoned by the rigid rules of patriarchy and heteronormative masculinity. Men who’ve been taught to fear tenderness, to equate empathy with weakness.”

“For generations, the phrase ‘walk like a girl’ has been used to shame, mock, and imply fragility, or inferiority. I’ve heard it thrown at me like an insult, but instead of rejecting it, I reclaimed it as a battle cry.” And the most cathartic chapter he had to write takes us back to his mother. He shares: “Her love was my first sanctuary, my first proof that softness could be a kind of steel. Putting that love into words broke me open — and then it healed me.”

A STARRY ATELIER

Prabal’s designs have graced a plethora of known personalities, from First Ladies and film stars, models to musicians, royalty to reality TV stars. His most recent viral moment was Diljit Dosanjh’s symbolic attire for the Met Gala this year. “The sherwani, the cape with gurmukh embroidery, the sun and moon embroidery, the layering, the turban… Each element was intentional. Diljit didn’t want to dilute or disguise who he was. To see him walk the steps in his full glory was a moment of reclamation for every Brown child who’s ever felt like they had to shrink to be seen.”

Earlier, Prabal had worked his magic on Alia Bhatt’s debut at the 2023 Met Gala, in a dress with over a lakh hand-embroidered pearls. There was Deepika Padukone’s structured yet billowy red dress at Met Gala 2018; Jennifer Lawrence’s gold lamé gown at the 2012 world premiere of The Hunger Games; and Kate Middleton’s printed purple-and-white dress at a state dinner in Singapore the same year. Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Sarah Jessica Parker, too, often sport his head-turning creations.

“When I design for someone like Alia at an event like the Met Gala, I think of the little girls sitting in living rooms in Mumbai, Kathmandu, Queens, watching, wondering if their own skin, culture, and history belong in those rooms of power. I design for them, so they see themselves not as background, but as the main event.”

AN ACTIVIST AT HEART

Foremost to Prabal is representation and inclusivity. He has long challenged beauty norms and gender binaries, having launched his label in the early 2000s, when the conversation around diversity was either muted or mocked. “When I first began speaking out, I often felt like a lone ranger, walking into rooms that didn’t know what to do with a queer, Brown male immigrant talking about softness, inclusivity, and radical visibility,” he recalls. “Today, there’s a visible shift in language, casting, and storytelling that wasn’t there earlier. That diversity and inclusion are now part of the mainstream dialogue is a sign of change.”

But he cautions: “Visibility isn’t equity. True progress will be when a trans model isn’t just cast but leads a global brand. When a Black stylist doesn’t need a White co-sign to be legitimised. When queer designers can lead fashion houses without having to fit the mold... Being heard, respected, given the keys to the room.” 

On the wave of Western houses dipping into traditional Indian crafts today, Prabal’s views are clear: there’s a razor-thin line between appreciation and appropriation. “A lehenga on a runway isn’t revolutionary if the artisans remain invisible. A bindi isn’t bold when stripped of its significance and repackaged as an accessory.” In the end, Prabal stays true to his roots and admirably down to earth. Recognition humbles him “because I know what it took to get here... I don’t take applause for granted. It humbles me because the things I want to create, the stories I want to tell are far from done. I’m just getting started…”

Images are courtesy Getty Images

This story was featured in the September '25 issue of HELLO! India. For more exclusive stories, subscribe to the magazine here.