PS: What does Diwali mean to you?
Prabal Gurung: Diwali for me is a time for people you love your family, friends, and just to celebrate. Have an account of the year gone and really, it’s a way of saying thank you, expressing gratitude to people who’ve been there for you during the darker times. Celebrating, not just the light within, but what we see within each other. And dancing, Bollywood songs, fabulous clothes and just like celebration. For me, my heart is always like filled with gratitude.
I’m so grateful we did it last year and, look at it now, it’s taken over. I feel like the more parties like this, the better because, Diwali is not just one day, it’s like a several days of celebration.
PS: What is your favorite Diwali tradition?
PG: I wake up, I’ll do a puja in my house, then I talk to my mom and my siblings. Then just like start getting ready and listen to my Diwali playlist just to get in the mood.
PS:Who are you wearing?
PG: I am wearing me! I got this all hand embroidered in India and in Mumbai and I brought it here made in New York. It’s very rare that I make stuff for myself, so I was just like, you know what, let me just give it a shot. I love colors and I was like, it’s very rare that I see guys wearing this emerald green and all of this stunning bejeweled. It’s always usually black or ivory or something like that. I wanted to celebrate the artists from that part of the world. I lived in India for like more than 10 years, I went to school there, I worked there and I
was just like, what better way to highlight in different ways that me as a designer based in New York can also like have a reach there, get it done there. I feel like it’s a well traveled, the velvet is from Italy, embroidery is done in India, and this is all made in New York.
PS: What is your favorite thing about South Asian fashion?
PG: It is everything. It is the soul of who we are like it or not. How we dress, whether it’s fully embroidered or simple sari, how we drape it, how we wear it, I would say it’s the soul of who we are. It’s our identity. It’s who we, what we, and I feel it’s like the breath that we take, because this is our heritage, this is where we’re from. This is what we grew up with, this is our norm in so many ways.
