The opening series made you sit up and take notice. A sky blue, poppy, and saffron half-sleeve color-blocked sweater dress had a wow factor, ditto the white scuba stretch mid-calf sheath expertly inset with contrasting arabesques of duchesse silk that appeared a few looks later. His collection is just over a year-and-a-half old, but Prabal Gurung s no novice when it comes to cut. On the contrary, after five years in the atelier at Bill Blass, the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund nominee is a bit of a stickler, obsessing over details like a flesh-colored zipper on a partially sheer evening dress (so it disappears against the skin) and hand-sewn—not glued—interfacing within the lining of a peplum motorcycle jacket (to better keep its shape). It s the kind of perfectionism that s made the designer a favorite with much-photographed celebrities, not to mention First Lady Michelle Obama, for whom every angle counts.
There was plenty here to keep the boldfacers coming back for more, from a narrow cocktail dress in sand-colored silk crepe—its draped and tucked bodice like the petals of a rose—to the bright finale gowns that played opaque against sheer in the style of the great Geoffrey Beene. A few of the other evening numbers were weighed down by embellishments like black seam tape fringe or rubberized fils coupés, and looked fussy in comparison to, say, Gurung s sky blue draped halter top and elongated pencil skirt in saffron technical mesh. If he skips the froufrou next time, he could hit it out of the park.
