Prabal Gurung Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection | Vogue

FALL 2024 READY-TO-WEAR

Things got off to a powerful start at Prabal Gurung, where the first model strode out in head-to-toe red, a fluid dress over a turtleneck and pants. Make no mistake, this was not a cutesy “tomato girl” ploy, nor was it didactic. “I’ve done the slogan tees with the political messages. I’ve gone past that,” said the designer. This time it was personal, a meeting of East (sportswear separates) and West (sarilike) draping. The third look, a showstopping coat in the same hue, paid homage to the dress traditions of Gurung’s Nepalese father and family, and introduced one of the main material stories of the season, shearling, which was used in myriad ways for trimmings and full-on looks, some accessorized with muffs.

That band shape, in turn, was an important and peripatetic element in the collection. In one instance, it wrapped around the shoulders; in another, it appeared as a furry trim at the hem of a dress. One two-tone minidress was essentially a tube with sleeves. Close to the end of the lineup, the wide band was cut into narrow strips that were reattached and assembled into a floaty dress. In the finale trio, in which the inner foundations of the dresses were partly revealed, the bands started to separate or unravel. This undone-ness was the visual representation of the collection’s theme: fragmented memories.

In some ways, the show was like a slideshow of Gurung’s life; the cast included three of his friends: And Just Like That… actor Sarita Choudhury, Westworld’s writer-director Lisa Joy, and Pachinko author Min Jin Lee. The tender bond of friendship seemed to be referenced by large scarves wrapped around the body. The addition of a sheer trailing streamer to a close-cut red satin suit was a happy meeting of structure and flou, as was a loose-fitting gown of ochre dévoré velvet (à la Fortuny) paired with black leather pants. (Hand-cut fringe was a nice complement to the shearling texture and the burnout fabric.) There was a lot of softness in the collection, and, as the designer noted, in the looser silhouettes that more closely relate to the amorphous quality of dreams and memories. “I almost needed [things] to feel lived-in,” Gurung noted.

The designer picked up some of the threads from last season, though this isn’t as much of a breakthrough. There’s a bit less clarity here, and certainly less joy; to be fair, the world looks grimmer than it did six months ago, which seems to be reflected in those prettily undone dresses. “I think dreams and hopes and optimism all have to be rooted to reality, and reality is also grief,” said Gurung, who finds, and shares, a lifeline in his work. “My thing is, I know what I know to make; I would say beautiful, feminine clothes, and I hope there’s strength in this beauty.”

Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear

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Prabal Gurung Fall 2024 Ready-to-Wear Collection | Vogue