Kathmandu Calling: Prabal Gurung Elected Vice Chair of Council of Fashion Designers of America
- The Nepali American fashion designer will begin his role on Jan. 1, along with Aurora James.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) has elected Prabal Gurung and Aurora James as vice chairs at its recent biannual board meeting. The two will start their roles on Jan. 1, when Thom Browne assumes his post as chairman of the CFDA, reported Women’s Wear Daily, a fashion-industry trade journal.
Gurung’s designs have been worn by leading ladies including First Lady Michelle Obama and The Duchess of Cambridge, to name a few. He chooses to manufacture in New York City “to uphold standards of quality while supporting the local community,” his website says.
The Singapore-born and Kathmandu, Nepal-raised Gurung began his career in New Delhi, before moving to New York to finish his studies at Parsons The New School for Design, according to his website. Upon graduating, he spent two years with Cynthia Rowley’s design and production teams. Soon after, he was appointed design director at the iconic Bill Blass, a post he held for five years before launching his eponymous collection in February 2009. A year later, he stage his debut fashion show at Bryant Park in Tents.
Notable accolades include the 2010 Ecco Domani Fashion Fund Award, 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund runner-up, USA Network’s Character Approved Award recipient in 2011, named goodwill ambassador of Maiti Nepal, a finalist of the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Award, recipient of the 2011 CFDA Swarovski Award for Womenswear and was honored in 2015 with the inaugural Creativity Award from The Drawing Center.
Gurung was the official 2013 designer collaborator for Target, launched a product collaboration with MAC Cosmetics in 2014, collaborated on a collection with TOMS to support Shikshya Foundation Nepal in 2016, launched a capsule with Lane Bryant in February 2017 and was named the Global Creative Director of Tasaki in September 2017.