Prabal Gurung Pre-Fall 2023 Collection

Lately Prabal Gurung has been targeting a new demographic. “I’ve been looking at where real change is happening,” he said at a pre-fall appointment. “This collection is an ode to them.” Gurung sees a freedom in the young generation that he didn’t experience himself in his youth, and he worked with the photographer Cruz Valdez and stylist Kyle Luu, who are both 30-ish—“the future,” he called them—to help him channel it for pre-fall.

This is a designer who dresses the Vice President. Gurung put a pair of pantsuits in this lineup, dialing up their hues to electric red and bright royal blue, and elongating the silhouette of the jacket, but the attitude here is more after-dark than boardroom. Spiked heels, PVC pants, and elbow length gloves send the message, and some of the dresses are photographed shorter than they looked hanging on the racks in the studio, the better to show off the models’ over-the-knee boots presumably.

Corsets are a popular item across fashion and Gurung said they’re working for him too, so the lookbook opens with a floral version paired with a stretch sequin skirt and a mesh bolero. The finaleis a vivid yellow sari with floral appliqués sprouting at the hem that taps into his roots in Nepal. In between Gurung touched on tweed tailoring, deconstructed shirt dresses (one exposed the entire midriff), and fluttery shifts pieced together from delicate strips of chiffon, tulle, and crepe. Familiar Gurung fare, but given a sexier gloss. “It’s an evolution,” he said, landing on an adjective he liked: “defiant.”