“The biggest thing one can have is courage—to tell one’s own story, to be themselves,” fashion designer Prabal Gurung told Brooke Jaffe for “ARTnews Live,” our ongoing IGTV series of interviews with a range of creatives. Gurung speaks about art, activism, and the importance of emphasizing feminine power in his work. The designer celebrates 10 years of his brand with a new book named Prabal Gurung. The book, which includes mood boards, sketches, runway images, and editorial content that have influenced the brand since its founding, explores the spiritual and artistic journey of the designer throughout his life. Gurung held his debut show in 2009 as part of New York Fashion Week at the Flag Art Foundation in Chelsea, and from there his brand achieved overnight success. He felt like at the time, nobody in the fashion industry was doing what he wanted to do. “There is no formula for success,” he said, “hard work and figuring out what your true passion is, where work doesn’t feel like work.”
Gurung looks to certain female artists as points of reference and inspiration for his work. In his book, he mentions the late architect Zaha Hadid, as well as artists such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Cecily Brown, Cindy Sherman, Frida Kahlo, and Tracey Emin. The designer even named the different models of his first shoe collection, which debuted in Spring 2015, after each of these empowered artists. Gurung, known to defy the conventional rules of the fashion world, found inspiration in these women through ability to navigate the male-dominated art world and still achieve success. “All these artists to me,” Gurung said, “their existence, their work, their presence … within real life and within history it was a defiance, it was a protest against patriarchal beliefs and systems. That to me is really powerful.”
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Celebrating women and matriarchal energy, has been a passion of Gurung’s since his childhood. Born in Singapore, he was raised by his single mother and spent most of his childhood in Nepal, before living in Australia, Europe, and the United States. Often labeled an activist, Gurung wants to shatter the glass ceiling and break any boundaries that are imposed on women by society. “My mantra has been not just celebrating but making sure that matriarchy is in power, because the world is ruled by patriarchy,” he explained. The designer’s upbringing was crucial in cultivating his passion for celebrating femininity, for he has been confronted with sexism in its full display from a young age. “Lot of time growing up, whether it was in Asia or in Europe or here … men are more celebrated and have more dominance,” he said. “I’ve always been drawn by female energy in the universe and I want to be able to celebrate that.”
Art is a primary source of inspiration for Gurung, and in many of the mood boards in his book he includes very specific references to paintings that have inspired his fashion collections. For one of his first collections in 2011, for instance, Gurung took direct inspiration from John Singer Sargent’s famous portrait of A Parisian Beggar Girl (1880). With his mood boards he combines his references, which are “always arts and books and music,” to create a feeling he then wants to mirror with his clothing line. For this show in particular he took inspiration from Florence + The Machine’s hit album Addicted to Love, model and activist Karlie Kloss, and the Sargent portrait. He added, “When I start a collection I surround myself in a room with art and inspiration and everyone gets in a mood.”
Source: artnews.com