A sophomore collection can be a tough test for an up-and-comer still establishing his identity, but Prabal Gurung passed with flying colors. In an economic climate that must make it tempting to cut whatever corners you can, it s clear that this is a young designer devoted to the craft of making clothes, and to making them with some of the finest materials out there. The starting point for Gurung s 26-look lineup was a bottle of his mother s YSL Rive Gauche perfume from the 1970 s. "I loved it," he said, "and I love product design, so I thought about playing with the idea of packaging." There was one double-faced charmeuse dress wrapped with spiraling horsehair like, well, a package, but that bit of tongue-in-cheek aside, Gurung is deadly serious about the business of looking chic.
He drapes a mean dress. It s the attention to detail that separates his one-shoulder cocktail frock from the next guy s. Apparently, Gurung spent three days with his patternmaker making sure the brush-painted rose on one such number appeared just so on the bodice. Other highlights included a white matte jersey off-the-shoulder goddess gown and a white tropical wool and silk duchesse tuxedo with a bow-tied lapel. If some of the looks bore too close a resemblance to pieces from his first season, Gurung gets a pass this time around. That s the risk in having such a razor-sharp focus.
