NEW YORK FASHION WEEK AW17: PRABAL GURUNG

Natalie Hanson   |   14-02-2017

Prabal Gurung showed his AW17 collection to a star-studded front row including Sarah Jessica Parker, Diane Kruger and Priyanka Chopra. However, it was the message he sent rather than the clothes that garnered the most attention and discussion after it was all over.

Firstly, Gurung addressed sizing issues by booking Candice Huffine and Marquita Pring, both plus size models, to walk for him. They both wore long sleeved dresses tied at the waist with rope belts. Of course, he is not the first to do this, but the stark contrast of their look against the other models served to show how we are still so unaccustomed to seeing any girl over a size 4 take to the runway. It is hard to be the first to take the initiative to make this a regular occurrence rather than a one-time press seeking gimmick so credit goes to him for that.

Secondly, in the finale of his show, Gurung sent models down the runway in slogan tees stamped with political messages, most noticeably Bella Hadid’s that said ‘THE FUTURE IS FEMALE.’ This piece looked more than a little familiar to the ‘it’ T-shirt of the moment; Maria Grazia Chiuri’s ‘WE SHOULD ALL BE FEMINISTS’ slogan tee for Christian Dior. In these difficult times for luxury fashion houses, it can’t help but beg the question; is this a genuine stand for women or is it a tactless jump onto the feminism bandwagon in an attempt to guarantee sales?

Prabal has said he’s had adverse reactions on his Instagram when he has attempted to be political before. However, the main issue here is not that he is being political, it is his lack of originality in how he has made his statement.

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