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For fashion designer Prabal Gurung, writing a memoir wasn’t something that happened overnight. “I’ve had these stories written down for years,” Gurung said. “This whole process has been almost six and a half to seven years for me writing this particular memoir.”
Right before the pandemic, Gurung sent three chapters to his agent, and she loved it. “She was like, “Are you okay if I just send it out to publishers?” I was like, “I’m a fashion designer. Um, all right.” I was like, “Let’s try it.”
On the latest episode of The Who What Wear Podcast, Gurung shares what inspired him to write Walk Like a Girl, the biggest takeaways he hopes readers will get from his book, and more.
For excerpts from their conversation, scroll below.
How did you decide that now is the time to write this memoir?
Well, I didn’t know now was the time. I write, I journal, and stuff like that, you know?
I’ve had these stories written down for years. This whole process has been almost six and a half to seven years for me to write this particular memoir.
When I was putting things together, I was really pouring my heart out. Even though I have a public persona, there’s a deeply private side of me, which is a lot more reflective and a lot more private and enjoys solitude.
Right before the pandemic and everything, I was just putting everything together. I shared it with my agent, and I was like, “You know, I have this. Someday I want to write this. Maybe put it all together.”
I sent her three chapters, and she loved it. She was like, “Are you okay if I just send it out to publishers?” I was like, “I’m a fashion designer. Um, all right.” I was like, “Let’s try it.”
Prabal Gurung
Walk Like a Girl: A Memoir
What is your biggest hope in terms of what people will take away from reading it?
What I hope people realize is that though my life may look really bold, bright, and fabulous, the joy is hard-earned. I hope people realize it’s not the destination that is of importance, it is the process.
Most importantly, I would say what I hope people feel after reading this book and they put it down is that they feel the freedom to be their unapologetic, authentic self.
Growing up, when everyone around me, besides my mom, my siblings, everyone around me thought I was good for nothing. A cautionary tale, you know? Never got any validation.
Though it was painful at that time, in hindsight, what it did for me was really free me from needing validation anymore.
When you don’t get “Great job, you did well” and all that stuff constantly from the outside world, you no longer seek it, right?
What it did for me was it really freed me, it really opened the door for me, opened the windows, opened everything for me to chart my territory, chart my own path, do whatever it is.
I hope in reading this book, people feel and realize the ultimate way to be free and the ultimate path to freedom is not needing validation from the outside world.
At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is what your heart tells you, what your soul tells you, and the only validation that matters is that, because the rest of it is a bonus.
But it is not something that you really need to be free.
I’d love to touch upon your most recent collection from this past fashion month, if you could give our audience a little glimpse into what the inspiration was. I’d love to hear what you were thinking about when you were putting that together.
When I was putting the fall collection together, what happened to me was that I was working on the memoir, also. There were a lot of memories about New York and Nepal.
I’m an extremely curious person who is a keen observer of life and not just about fashion, but about life. I’m an early riser, so I see New York that not many people see.
The New York that I see in the early break of dawn is people coming home from a party and people going to work. That coming together. I also felt this sense of protection and layering and protective covers that we needed in these really difficult, challenging times.
What we’re looking for in New York and bigger cities is this human touch and intimacy, whether it’s for one night or whether it’s for a lifetime, it doesn’t matter, we’re looking for connection.
I wanted to create a collection that kind of covered you in that true sense of self. The basis of it, in fashion terms, is very American sportswear, because that’s what I see in New York. But the coats and everything were very much almost like a kimono shape from the east, right? Those flowers that bloomed are the lilies from the bodega. Often discarded as cheap flowers or whatever, but it brings so much joy to so many people. It was just this idea of New York coming together for someone who’s not from this part of the world.
I wanted to create a world where there was a celebration of sensuality, vulnerability, seeking connection, and community. Above all, the whole idea started when I was writing my memoir.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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