Prabal Gurung: Meet The Man Behind Michelle Obama's White House Correspondents' Dinner Dress (PHOTOS)
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Prabal Gurung was riding in a cab with two friends heading to a party when he found out that First Lady Michelle Obama stepped out to the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in a red, draped dress designed by Gurung himself.
"I got a text, and an email, and an email, and then emails and I was like, holy cow," Gurung told The Huffington Post. "So I called one of my coworkers and I asked him to go online and check and he started screaming."
Gurung knew Michelle had the gown hanging in her wardrobe but he wasn't sure when she would wear it.
"I was really hoping [she'd wear it to the dinner]," Gurung confessed. "I made it, and I made it the best way I could and I sent it out to her....Red is my favorite color, and I was thinking about her and she's worn different kinds of styles. She's worn strapless. She's worn bigger skirts. The way this matte jersey is draped and hand stitched--and you haven't seen the back part of the gown--is incredibly beautiful. When I was doing it, I thought it would perfectly enhance the type of woman she is. It's modern, not vulgar, very chic, very beautiful."
Check out some images of Gurung's designs, and scroll down to keep reading:
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Although Gurung might have been surprised, for anyone who has been following his career, Michelle's choice hardly comes as a sartorial shock. The young, Nepali designer first made waves in America after showing his spring 2009 collection. He's dressed celebrities like Demi Moore and Thandie Newton, and he actually clothed Michelle for her trip to the Smithsonian with Jason Wu ("It was an out of body experience," he said). He's part of New York City's Fashion Incubator, an initiative that funds and mentors new designers. And he will be dressing two or three people at tonight's Met Gala, although he refused to name names.
Still, with his myriad accomplishments, and each one more impressive than the last, Gurung remains endearingly humble, using "we" instead of "I" when talking about his work, and praising Michelle for her fashion sense:
"She wears new designers and that shows who she is as a person and how aware she is about her position as a first lady," Gurung explained. "She could have gone the usual route but she takes the risk. She gives hope to new designers."
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Huffington Post Hilary Moss First Posted: 07/03/2010 5:12 am Updated: 05/25/2011 4:20 pm