Prabal Gurung

Gurung was born in 1974, in Singapore to Nepali parents and raised in Kathmandu, Nepal.{{Cite web |title=Prabal Gurung |url=https://www.businessoffashion.com/people/prabal-gurung/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=The BoF 500 |publisher=The Business of Fashion}}{{cite news |last=Givhan |first=Robin |date=5 February 2018 |title=Is Prabal Gurung the most woke man in fashion? |url=http://www.theday.com/article/20180205/ENT10/180209703/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205225214/https://theday.com/article/20180205/ENT10/180209703/ |archive-date=2018-02-05 |access-date=9 February 2018 |work=The Day}} His mother, Durga Rana, was a former boutique owner. His older brother, Pravesh Rana Gurung, is an Indian film director, and his older sister, Kumudini Shrestha, is a teacher and social worker.{{Cite web |title=Bollywood Assistant Director Pravesh Gurung Biography, News, Photos, Videos |url=https://nettv4u.com/celebrity/hindi/assistant-director/pravesh-gurung |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=nettv4u |language=en}}{{Cite news|work=The Himalayan Times |date=22 April 2016 |title=Education for change |url=https://thehimalayantimes.com/education/education-for-change |access-date=30 March 2022 |language=en}}

He went to a Jesuit school, St. Xavier's School in Jawalakhel.{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Jackie |title=The curious case of Arthur Gunn |url=https://theannapurnaexpress.com/news/the-curious-case-of-arthur-gunn-2500 |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=The Annapurna Express |language=en}} Before entering the fashion world, he earned a bachelor's degree in hotel management from the National Council of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition. He had always been interested in clothing and colors and was introduced to the world of fashion when he moved to New Delhi. There, he attended the National Institute of Fashion Technology.{{Cite web |date=12 November 2016 |title=Prabal Gurung is the thinking woman's designer |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/brunch/prabal-gurung-is-the-thinking-woman-s-designer/story-3oKENppNgtByo2RgHjcX2N.html |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=Hindustan Times |language=en}}

In India, Gurung apprenticed for local fashion houses and started designing with Manish Arora. He has stated, "From the brilliance of Bollywood to the fabrics, embroideries, and textures you can find at Chandni Chowk to the fast-paced streets of Mumbai, it's an incredible place."{{cite web |title=Prabal Gurung |url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/fashion/prabal-gurung |website=Interview Magazine |date=6 January 2014}}

For seven years, Gurung traveled to Australia and England, assisting stylists and editors with fashion shows and photo shoots. He then returned to Nepal. In 1999, Gurung moved to New York City, where he completed his studies at the Parsons School of Design.

While studying at Parsons School of Design, Gurung had an internship with Donna Karan.{{Cite news |date=November 14, 2017 |title=Prabal Gurung on why fashion has never been so exciting |url=https://www.hellomagazine.com/fashion/news/2017111458316/prabal-gurung-fashion-has-become-more-than-just-clothes/ |access-date=2025-03-01 |work=HELLO!}} He then spent two years on the design and production team at Cynthia Rowley. In 2004, he was appointed design director at Bill Blass, where he remained for five years.

In February 2009, launched his own label, PRABAL GURUNG, during New York Fashion Week.{{Cite web |last=Feitelberg |first=Rosemary |date=23 November 2021 |title=Prabal Gurung Talks Fashion, Inclusivity and Patriotism |url=https://wwd.com/eye/people/prabal-gurung-talks-fashion-inclusivity-and-patriotism-1235002354/ |access-date=30 March 2022 |website=WWD |language=en-US}} His eponymous label has become known for its gowns and dresses. His many fans include former First Lady Michelle Obama; former Vice President Kamala Harris; the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton; multihyphenate Oprah Winfrey; and actresses Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, and Demi Moore.{{Cite news |last=Lichi |first=Layla |date=September 9, 2024 |title=Prabal Gurung |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/3104155763/464136EA5969451BPQ/2 |access-date=2025-03-01 |work=WWD: Women's Wear Daily|id={{ProQuest|3104155763}} }}

His collections are known for taking inspiration from a diverse range of cultural influences from season to season. These have included his favorite designer, Yves Saint Laurent; erotic photographs by Nobuyoshi Araki; and the character Miss Havisham from Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.

In 2011, Gurung was appointed chief designer for the relaunch of Onward Kashiyama's ICB collections in Europe.[https://www.ft.com/content/def4f6a0-2037-11e1-9878-00144feabdc0 Prabal Gurung lands design role at ICB] Financial Times, 6 December 2011.

Also in 2011, Gurung was commissioned by Sephora to create new uniforms for all its beauty advisers in North America, making it the first change to the retailer's employee wear since 2001.Julie Naughton (13 December 2011), [https://wwd.com/feature/designing-women-and-men-5426696-759628/ Sephora Taps Prabal Gurung for Uniforms] Women's Wear Daily. He later worked on collections with Lane Bryant (2017), Target (2013), and MAC Cosmetics (2014).{{Cite web|url=https://prabalgurung.com/pages/about|title=About|website=Prabal Gurung}}

File:Prabal Gurung.jpg

Aside from his full-time career as a fashion designer, Gurung established the Shikshya Foundation in Nepal, a non-profit program to benefit underprivileged children. This program was created in 2012, and since then has benefited over sixty students. The Shikshya Foundation also funds workshops and orientations for teachers educating students in reading, writing, mathematics, and finance. To raise awareness for his project, he worked with Toms in 2016.{{cite magazine|url=https://time.com/collection/american-voices-2017/4441483/prabal-gurung-american-toms-shoes/|title=A Leading Force in Fashion's New Guard|first=Eric|last=Wilson|date=2017|access-date=6 February 2024|magazine=Time Magazine}}

In addition, Gurung has supported Planned Parenthood, ACLU, voter registration, and created a relief fund for victims of the April 2015 Nepal earthquake which raised almost one million in funds. Gurung also joined the "Stop Asian Hate" campaign, which works to stop the rise in Asian hate-crimes and racism as exacerbated by COVID-19.{{Cite web |last=Klich |first=Tanya |title=Prabal Gurung, Phillip Lim And Dao-Yi Chow Emerge As Leading Voices For #StopAsianHate—But What About The Rest Of Luxury Fashion? |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/tanyaklich/2021/04/02/prabal-gurung-philip-lim-and-dao-yi-chow-emerge-as-leading-voices-for-stopasianhate-but-what-about-the-rest-of-luxury-fashion/ |date=2 April 2021|access-date=30 March 2022 |website=Forbes |language=en}}{{Cite web|url=http://shikshyafoundationnepal.org/|title=Shikshya Foundation Nepal}}{{Cite web|url=https://cfda.com/news/creatives-care-prabal-gurung-and-the-shikshya-foundation-nepal|title=CFDA|website=cfda.com}}

In 2011, Gurung was the recipient of the Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award and received a nomination for the 2010 CFDA/Swarovski Womenswear Award.{{Cite web|url=https://www.glamour.com/story/ecco-domani-fashion-fund-winne|title=Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Winner Prabal Gurung on Oprah, Target, and Spending His $25K Prize|date=7 January 2010}} He was also chosen by prominent fashion editors, retailers, designers and business people for the CFDA Fashion Incubator for 2010–2012. In November 2010, Gurung was runner-up for the 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.{{Cite web|url=https://cfda.com/members/profile/prabal-gurung|title = CFDA}} He was listed as a finalist for the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award (2012), receiving the CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear (2011), winning the Drawing Award from the Creativity Center (2015).

Gurung lives in an apartment near Washington Square Park.Ruth La Ferla (28 January 2022), [https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/28/style/prabal-gurung-marina-rust-bevy-smith.html How Prabal Gurung Plans to Fall in Love This Year] New York Times.

• List of Nepali people
• LGBT culture in New York City
• List of LGBT people from New York City
• NYC Pride March

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• [http://www.prabalgurung.com/ Official website]

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Category:Living people

Category:American fashion designers

Category:LGBTQ fashion designers

Category:1974 births

Category:People from Singapore

Category:American Hindus

Category:LGBTQ Hindus

Category:Parsons School of Design alumni

Category:National Institute of Fashion Technology alumni

Category:Nepalese emigrants to the United States

Category:American LGBTQ people of Asian descent

Category:Nepalese fashion designers

Category:Gurung people