Gurung brings the Himalayas to New York

NEW YORK - Prabal Gurung, Nepalese fashion designer to the A-list, on Saturday unveiled a Himalayan-themed 2015 spring/summer collection in New York paired with an inaugural shoe collection inspired by women artists.

The collection was billed as "the juxtaposition of traditional Nepalese dressing and androgynous American sportswear".

It was the designer's second consecutive runway show inspired by a trek to Mustang, a plateau on the Chinese border where his mother's ancestors came from, and comes with him just weeks away from launching a make-up brand.

He chose white, turquoise, lilac, amethyst, navy and sunset coral as the colours of his collection, meant to embody the skies over Nepal from dusk to dawn.

Micro-shorts, skirts, asymmetrical dresses and organza blouses showcased Gurung's signature ruffles, hand embroidery, layers and different textures: skirts draped with chiffon and dresses spliced with graphic details.

Day dresses had three-dimensional rhododendron and carabineer prints.

There was ample use of flocked satin, raw bleached denim, organza made into wrap blouses and then cloque jacquard, which looked a bit like subtle quilting and which Gurung said was a nod to the mountains.

Outfits encapsulated a fresh, dreamy exoticism trimmed with leather, ostrich features, ruffles and backs which were cut out under and around the shoulders.

For evening wear, he created billowing, two-tone chiffon skirts with a stripe of colour down the back and bodices encrusted with Swarovski crystals, finished with oversized waistcoats to provide a modern flourish.

The designer's first shoe line complemented the clothes, each named after 20th-century artists: Britain's Tracy Emin, Zaha Hadid and Cecily Brown; Americans Georgia O'Keeffe and Cindy Sherman; and Mexican painter Frida Kahlo.

Stilettos had textural and colour-blocked details with graphic straps, rhodium-plated hardware buckles and technical nylon belts.