Prabal Gurung reflects on legacy ahead of 10-year NYFW anniversary (Exclusive)

Prabal Gurung is celebrating a big milestone: This Spring/Summer 2020 New York Fashion Week marks the tenth anniversary of his debut.

In celebration of his legacy and his efforts in continuing to push the fashion industry forward by breaking traditions, Gurung has partnered with The Glenlivet on a variety of initiatives connected to NYFW, forcing him to take a look back at the impact that he's had on the fashion industry -- despite that not being "big on nostalgia."

"It’s a story about an American dream and someone who came here as an immigrant with a dream and a passion to make a name for myself," he told AOL exclusively of his story. "I had grit and kindness from a lot of friends and supporters, but it’s been wonderful. If there’s one emotion and one thought that I’m constantly moved by, it’s one of gratitude -- extreme, immense gratitude that I’m able to do what I love."

For more from Prabal Gurung ahead of his NYFW show on Sunday, September 8, check out our interview with the designer below, where he talks about pushing the boundaries of fashion, what he aims to accomplish with his runway shows and why he always strives to start a conversation.

For New York Fashion Week this season, you've partnered with The Glenlivet, and in a clip released for the collaboration, you talk about how the brand's new 14 Year Old expression is breaking tradition, which remains in line with what you do as a designer. Can you elaborate a bit more on that?

For me, what the brand stands for and who I am as a designer and person are the same: We like challenging the status quo and we appreciate questioning and changing these narratives. So, both Glenlivet and I value that not just in fashion, but beyond that world. Partnering with them with their ethos and the modernizing of their brand makes it just the perfect match.

I love that you also talked about how your mother asked you growing up how you would impact the world positively. What do you see as your most profound impact on the world?

It’s really difficult to talk about my own impact without sounding immodest, but the very fact that I’m present, I show up, I talk about it and I challenge the status quo, willing to have this deeper conversation about how the world should look like. But, I would say the more tangible impact is back home [in Nepal] with my foundation, where we focus on educating children and building art centers and built shelters after the earthquake. In seven years we have impacted 30,000 lives back there, so that to me is something quantifiable. As a person of color and minority just showing up and having a conversation in a landscape that, for me, isn’t always available for someone like me is an impact, too.

This is also coming on the tenth anniversary of your NYFW debut. Do you ever get to take the time to reflect on that?

Here’s the thing: I’m not big on nostalgia, to be completely honest. I’m always moving forward. This is the tenth anniversary, and it’s going to be twenty years since I’ve been in America. We’re doing a 10-year anniversary book, so I really have to go back and look at what I’ve done. What I realized early on was that success and notoriety and any kind of attention I’m getting isn’t for me. I don’t do this alone, and I have an incredible team that works with me. Beyond that, it’s a story about an American dream and someone who came here as an immigrant with a dream and a passion to make a name for myself. I had grit and kindness from a lot of friends and supporters, but it’s been wonderful. If there’s one emotion and one thought that I’m constantly moved by, it’s one of gratitude -- extreme, immense gratitude that I’m able to do what I love.

What would you say to the version of yourself that existed 10 years ago, knowing everything that’s happened in the last decade?

I would probably say that the dreams and the all the desires you have with this mission will all come true in due time. Just be patient, and don’t be afraid. I would also say that everything’s going o be okay.

I'm going to your show for the first time this weekend. What can someone expect from one of your shows?

When I started my brand, I said that I wanted to create a luxury brand with a soul, and soul to me means the ability to see someone in front of you, validate them and let them know that their existence matters and that is what I wanted to sell. For me, that’s really important. It’s also a celebration. When I joined fashion, if you cared about fashion or looking good, you weren’t necessarily someone with substance and I wanted to change that narrative. Fashion and depth and fashion and substance aren’t mutually exclusive. I wanted to have that conversation, and my show is all about that. It’s a celebration of beauty and hopefully people walk away from there feeling motivated.

One of my favorite runway moments of yours was the finale of your F/W 2017 collection, where models all walked out wearing black-and-white statement tees. It was an inspiring, breakout moment for fashion in terms of making social or political commentary in this climate we're in now. What's the importance of making such statements through your work?

Fashion is not an isolated industry. We consume culture, we consume politics and we consume everything that happens around the world. There are options of how you go about it, and there is the option of living in your own bubble, but for me it doesn’t work like that. I like to engage in conversation, because I love what I do. Fashion is my language and my medium and it gives me so much joy, but at the same time it’s a billion-dollar industry that affects the economy and environment and the zeitgeist, so I like to start that conversation. I’m not just making a statement, but it’s more out of curiosity and the desire to learn. No industry, regardless of what it is, [has] rules. Your only rule is to show up and be unafraid to tell the truth and speak the truth, so that’s how I function in the clothes that we make and in the things that we do.

This interview has been edited and condensed.