Things Got a Bit Rowdy at Prabal Gurung’s Postshow Dinner

At just after 9:15 p.m., a crowd started to chant at Prabal Gurung to take off his shirt. It was a call to action that no one, exactly, can confirm who requested first. But suddenly it became a rallying cry throughout the dining room at American Bar, where Gurung’s nearest and dearest friends gathered to celebrate his fall/winter 2020 collection. He did not disrobe—although a glint in his eye suggests that for a split second he may have thought about it—but he did stand up and quote Joan Didion: “I was in love with New York,” he said. “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.”

Yes, Gurung loves New York. But it’s also clear that, from last night’s soirée, New York loves him back.

While some Fashion Week dinners are endured not enjoyed, season after season, Gurung’s parties are routinely rowdy affairs with an energetic assortment of attendees. Take last night’s guest list, which included Nicky Hilton Rothschild, Indre Rockefeller, Huma Abedin, Phillip Lim, and Caitriona Balfe. “Fashion people, film people, and, well, everyone—I wanted to bring them together!” Gurung exclaimed of his crowd. “This is what a dinner table should look like.”

To clarify: A Gurung dinner table is crammed with chic people sharing family-style food—last night’s dinner menu included Caesar salad, spinach and artichoke dip, chicken schnitzel, and a cheeseburger. (The last entrée is distinctly Prabal: In every city he travels to, he orders a burger and fries.)

For a certain set of New Yorkers, Fashion Week schedules are jam-packed: There’s always another show, another dinner, or another party you could or should go to. But it’s a testament to Gurung that, as the night went later and later, there was very little guest turnover. Everyone was content exactly where they were—laughing, eating fries, and shouting at people to take off their shirt.