Mercedes driver Valterri Bottas may have taken out the win in this years’ Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, but Prabal Gurung took pole position in the F1 fashion stakes. The Nepalese designer left his New York base to unveil the new uniform for Etihad Airways’ Grid Girls, via an exclusive with IMG Model Chanel: Iman. The major sponsor ear marked Gurung as the next architect for Etihad’s image, with the task of dressing the hand-selected cabin crew for the thee day event to an unprecedented audience. FIB takes a look at the designers who take on Grid-style, as well as what is to come from this young gun of fashion.
Where the metal meets the road you don’t tend to think of the fashion intersection, more like leather-clad muscle gritted in dirt. But throughout popular culture there are a number of references to Grid-style that outline the fashion of the track. Days of Thunder starred a fresh-faced Tom Cruise as an off-the handle, speed driven knockabout sporting a ‘Mello Yello’ tagged black and neon piped jumpsuit. Drew Barrymore, Cameron Diaz and Lucy Liu looked in-charge with the unzipped, almost-skier like fitted blue and red getups in the 2000 reboot of Charlies Angels. Whilst scantily dressed girls draped over fantasy-cars feature on the calendars of every mechanic shop wall known to man. So when high fashion takes over, what happens to the up-sexed and rebellious stereotypes we have come to know?
Prabal Gurung has walked the line well, taking traditional signifiers of racing and putting a more feminine spin on them. The new uniform borders accessibility. It’s as if a girl on the street could pull this off – whether she’s hailing down a cab or a formula one car like the Etihad Grid Girls. There is a real corporate sensibility to the design, not typically sexy but maintaining elements of appeal, with a neck to naval gold zip on the all-in-one, black-silhouetted jumpsuit. The slinky fit contrasts to the architecturally-puffed cap sleeves that add a ‘Joan-Collins in Dynasty’ sense of female empowerment. In the circuit launch Prabal Gurung talks shop:
“We are so excited to design this uniform with Etihad. Etihad’s foray into fashion is truly an innovative break from tradition. Similarly, we wanted to challenge the conceived notion of how Grid Girls are typically dressed. Together, we are proud to create a jumpsuit with a strong shoulder and our signature architectural approach – something a bit unexpected, yet still feminine and empowering”.
Etihad’s commitment to fashion is clear, from sponsoring 17 International Fashion Weeks in the past two years and offering Runway to Runway, a travel program which caters exclusively to the creative set and fashion community. Their alignment with Prabal Gurung comes with the cache of the designer’s established fashion-cred and his followers, bringing an unparalleled level of experience and luxury to the World Class Event. Not for nothing; with the hundreds of millions of sport spectators who tuned into watch, this fashion venture is sure to increase the designer’s own public awareness to a more unlikely audience.
The power of collaboration is certainly not lost on the designer. Earlier this year Prabal teamed up with plus-size label Lane Bryant to design a capsule collection for the fuller-figure. Ashley Graham, who has achieved super-model status for famous curves, featured in the collaborative campaign alongside the designer. CEO of Lane Bryant, Linda Heasley, considers Prabal’s gift as bringing an “unabashed glamour” to American sports-wear. In a statement featured on Daily Mail, Heasley admits, “Prabal is a master at mixing materials, fabrics and textures – he pulls it off in such a way that each piece becomes its own artistic statement”.
Even before this Gurung had associations with Target, MAC Cosmetics and TOMS with a number of capsule collections, as well as being up for and winning a number of high profile industry awards. He was runner up in 2010 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and in 2011 he took out the CFDA Swarovski Award for womenswear, among a number of other honours. Prabal was a product of Parsons, the acclaimed school for design in New York. In 2009 he launched an eponymous label with a focus on modern luxury, quality and innovation. He came to industry attention almost overnight, first time out he secured a coveted cover spot among his peers. Elle even did a short feature documentary in preparation to his debut collection.
Now Prabal Gurung is a staple of New York Fashion Week and prides himself on keeping production mostly close to home, in support of local industry and quality control. But for me personally, along with Nicki Minaj, Gurung didn’t hit my radar until he dropped his spring/summer collection in 2012. As a young designer wrapping up my own studies I witnessed the sharp digital printed satins, sheer panels and soft drapes as a striking new era for design. The purple foiled dresses took the lead and were followed up in his AW 2012-2013 collection with metallic gold and white ensembles that were once again on point.
“These people have seen me from day one – my growth – I’m here because of their love and support. I hope that they feel and sense my growth, professionally, as a designer and also spiritually and personally. I hope it moves them a little bit – because this collection was very cathartic for me”
Prabal Gurung, Video Fashion Daily, AW 2012-13
Prabal dropped his 2018 Spring Summer Collection this year to a new evolved style. There was a lot more block colour in play, and the prints felt more like textiles fused together with a floral softness. Standouts were DIY cut-outs with panels of Rouleau loop buttons that gave the appearance of seams unravelling and dispersing the volume of the drapery.
Like the history of grid-fashion, a designer’s signature will evolve naturally over time. But the hallmarks and origins of their style remain inevitably intact, as much for reference as for means of subversion. By the way in which Prabal has taken to collaborate with leaders in business and fashion, it’s clear he knows this better than anyone.
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