Prabal Gurung Getting Even With The Odds

Not all heroes wear a cape-but this guy often does, albeit adorned with hand-embroidered flowers! Meet Prabal Gurung-the celebrated New York-based Nepalese American fashion designer. Being a South Asian immigrant in the US who is openly gay-to say that he has a lot of odds stacked against him might be an understatement. But the boy from Nepal has not only gotten even with the odds; he has turned them into his strength

- By Ananya Ghosh

His client list features Hollywood A-listers and global cultural icons ranging from Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Kamala Harris, Kate Middleton, and Chimamanda Adichie to the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Anne Hathaway, Zoe Saldaña, Demi Moore, Shakira, and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. Over the years he has also become the go-to designer for Indian celebrities—Alia Bhatt, Deepika Padukone, Isha Ambani have all worn custom Prabal Gurung at their MET Gala outings. His design ethos focuses on the modern, intelligent woman who is comfortable in her skin. Gurung's fashion is feminist and that comes from his background as the gay son of a single mother in Nepal. “My mother's biggest passion in life was equality for herself and others. So, for me, feminism is not a trending topic on social media or a vehicle to forward my own agenda. The more I read about body shaming or slut-shaming, the more I realise that it has little to do with the women and more to do with the men. It is not the women wearing the clothes that are the issue but the men judging them. Feminism has been part of me since day one. It is in my DNA,” he had told me when we had met for an interview exactly a decade back. To him, femininity is not just an aesthetic, it is not a sign of weakness. But it is a form of radical defiance; it is “most significant resistance to patriarchy”. In fact, his memoir published in 2025 is titled