Designer deeply affected by Nepal earthquake, as was his spring collection
Fashion designer Prabal Gurung says his life was 'forever changed' by April earthquake that devastated his homeland. It made him reflect on his impressions of Nepal - impressions he drew on for collection he presented in New York
Fashion designers wander through museums taking notes. They attend countless movies. They rifle through rare books and listen to esoteric forms of music. They love eccentric personalities and fictional characters who have inconceivably impractical wardrobes. They hunt for inspiration from myriad sources and sometimes the explanations for their collections read like a dense dissertation on post-modernism or the history of Le Corbusier.
And what does all of that intellectualism do for the clothes? Often, not much.
As designers unveil their spring 2016 collections in New York this week, they have posted inspiration as diverse as Brutalist architecture, Nina Simone, psychedelic trips and Goa in India. But ultimately, some of the most beautiful clothes have resulted when designers simply allowed the personal to guide their hand - and the clothes are a reflection of who they are and how they relate to their world.
Prabal Gurung, whose collections Harvey Nichols carries in Hong Kong, opened his show with the solemn and soothing chants of a chorus of Buddhist monks. As the audience waited in a darkened loft with its high wooden beams soaring overhead, the monks silently assembled at the top of the catwalk. With soft lights illuminating their saffron robes, the low rumble of their voices moved gently across the room.
When they finished, they left silently. The audience was silent, too. And then the show’s music rumbled to life and the first models appeared dressed in flowing dresses in shades of saffron, burnt orange and gold.
