Designer
from Nepal who cracked New York
KATHMANDU, June 11, 2010 (AFP) - The young Nepalese fashion
designer Prabal
Gurung has been courted by the world's top style magazines
and won plaudits for his creations from some of Hollywood's
best-known actresses.
Photo: AFP
But it was not until Michelle
Obama attended a function wearing a dress he designed that
his parents, who live in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu, finally
believed he had made it.
"My
mom had always kind of brushed off my success. She would say, 'Talk
to me whenMichelle
Obama wears one of your designs,'" Gurung, who lives in
New York, told AFP during a recent visit to his native Nepal.
"She
was the first person I called when I heard the news."
Gurung, who will not give his exact age but is in his 30s, is one
of the hottest young fashion designers in New York.
Demi
Moore has tweeted his praises, Rachel Weisz appeared on the red
carpet wearing one of his dresses, and the hugely influential
editor of American Vogue, Anna
Wintour, has given him her backing.
But in
Nepal, where making clothes is seen as menial work for women and
people from low castes, he is rarely even recognised.
"Of
course, I am not as famous as (local actor) Bhuwan KC," jokes
Gurung, whose dresses sell from 1,400 dollars -- almost four times
the average annual salary in Nepal.
"But
considering the economy here and lack of disposable income Nepalese
people have, they are very creative. I think they are way more
fashion-conscious than lots of South Asians."
Gurung, who returns to Nepal every year to see his family, credits
his success in the fashion industry partly to his sister and
mother, who ran a clothing store in Kathmandu when he was growing
up.
"The
person that I am today is all down to my family, especially my mom,
who believed in celebrating differences and not following the
norm," said Gurung, whose parents' marriage defied convention
because they were from different backgrounds.
His
mother belongs to the Rana dynasty of politicians that ruled Nepal
for a large part of the 20th century, while his father is from an
ordinary working class family.
The
couple moved to Singapore after marrying without the approval of
their parents and Gurung was born there, returning to Nepal only in
his teens.
Like
many middle-class Nepalese, he was educated in India, where he
initially trained in hotel management before enrolling in a course
at the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi.
There,
he says, he realized he had found what he wanted to do, and after
graduating he worked for the Mumbai fashion designer Manish
Arora, whose modern take on traditional Indian dress has won
him international plaudits.
But he
wanted to learn more about the international fashion industry and
in 1999, after spells in London and Sydney, he moved to New York
where he worked as an intern for the designer Donna Karen.
He
worked his way up through the industry, designing for New York
fashion houses Cynthia
Rowley and Bill
Blass, where he rose to become design director.
Last
year he finally realised a long-held ambition to have his own
label, launching his business out of his New York apartment and
holding his first show during New York fashion
week in February.
"I
remember as a teenager watching fashion shows on a television
programme called 'Style by Elsa Klench' on CNN," Gurung recalls. "I
never thought I would be doing something similar."
Just a
year after launching his namesake brand, Gurung had won the support
of Wintour -- arguably the most influential woman in the fashion
business.
"Every
designer wants Anna's approval," says Gurung, who describes his
collection as "chic and timeless, yet modern."
The
first Prabal
Gurung design worn by actress Demi Moore was inspired by a
traditional Nepalese women's wrap dress known as the Haku Patasi
and the designer says he is "subtly influenced by Nepalese and
Indian designs."
He
wants to be seen as "a designer from Nepal, not a Nepali designer,"
and has been careful not to allow the ethnic influence to overwhelm
his designs.
But he
believes coming from Nepal has given him an advantage -- even if he
often finds himself having to explain where it is.
"Nepal
is known for its beauty and spirituality, for Mount Everest and for
Buddha," he said. "That's a rich heritage to belong to, to grow up
and be associated with."by Subel Bhandari