Prabal Gurung's Fall 2020 Collection Was a Love Letter to New York City

The designer paid tribute to the sometimes challenging, often inspiring place he calls home.

The show notes for Prabal Gurung's Fall 2020 collection centered around a quote by Joan Didion about New York City, Gurung's chosen home and the source of both frustration and inspiration for the designer.

"Quite simply, I was in love with New York. I do not mean 'love' in any colloquial way, I mean that I was in love with the city, the way you love the first person who ever touches you and you never love anyone quite that way again."

To that end, he staged the collection inside the Rainbow Room, atop 30 Rockefeller Center — about as classic a Big Apple establishment as you can get — and even hired Colin Huggins, the pianist who Gurung often heard playing during his walks through Washington Square Park, to perform at the show.

While the opening look was a black and white suit, what followed was not necessarily what one might expect from a collection inspired by the city that never sleeps. Instead, it was all about what Gurung calls "eclectic glamour" — think loud leopard print mixed with brightly-saturated florals, sexy nightlife-worthy tops worn with slouchy tailored pants, or even feathered muffs. (Is it time to bring back the muff? As someone whose favorite American Girl doll was Samantha, I would be thrilled if we could make that happen.)

Indeed, plumage was a recurring motif, with long, single feathers sewn onto skirts and tops — as was sparkle, whether it was running along sexy cutouts or strewn across slinky dresses. Some of it felt like a departure for Gurung, who has seemingly followed the same through line in many of his past collections, but what could be more New York (or more exciting) than exploration and evolution?

See the full Prabal Gurung Fall 2020 collection in the gallery below:

View the 37 images of this gallery on the original article

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