Prabal Gurung is the guy you call for a going-out dress. He scored Emily Ratajkowski as a Met Gala date last month, and put her in a body-skimming one-shoulder number with a high slit and a nude illusion back that left very little to the imagination. He reports that he’s never met as many famous actors (all keen to meet EmRata, duh) as he did that night.
The Ratajkowski dress closes Gurung’s Resort lookbook, but what makes his new collection noteworthy is his enthusiasm for dresses in a more minor key. One of the best of all was a shirtdress in a wrinkle-resistant dark blue plaid with a sharp handkerchief hem. A red-and-black bamboo-print cotton eyelet dress with grosgrain trim had a similarly easy, breezy vibe. Picking up a motif from his Fall show, he trimmed slits and cutouts with tiny buttons, upping the flirt factor on other numbers. “She fastens them to meet his parents, then unbuttons them afterward,” he said with a wink. Trimming the side seams of pants, the buttons made a standout of his tuxedo suit.
Rounding out the collection were the knit sweaters he has handmade in Nepal and a shearling coat with whipstitch and studding details. They, too, register in a more everyday kind of way, and they were nice enough, but in this collection, the dresses were the stars.
