New York Fashion Week: Prabal Gurung Spring 2012

The beauty of Prabal Gurung’s creativity is that he can pull from a completely artistic or abstract inspiration and turn it into designs that every woman can love. Last season, it was Miss Havisham and this season, it is images from world-renowned Japanese artist Nobuyoshi Araki. Araki is known for his erotic images and most would even go to the lengths of calling his photographs pornographic. He has worked with the likes of Bjork and Lady Gaga, giving you a sense that his work isn’t totally politically correct.

What Prabal did for Spring is translate that influence into his sexiest collection to date. Sarah Jessica Parker is a huge fan of his designs and he did not exclude her and those who adore her style, but he definitely ramped up the sensuality with his pieces and is reaching out to even bolder women, with rocking bodies to match. His looks truly are like pieces of art this time around from the amazing floral prints adorning so many pieces, to the varying silhouettes with a heavy emphasis on angles and architectural lines.

With Araki’s influence clearly shining through, Prabal touched on the idea of bondage on dresses featuring caged corset belts and thick criss-cross strips of fabric on Ming Xi and Nyasha Matonhodze. Sensual cutouts, sheer sleeves and hems and thigh-high slits were featured on most dresses including an elegant black number on Anna Selezneva, a white gown (my new dream wedding dress) on Toni Garrn and a stunner on Karlie Kloss that will certainly be worn on the red carpet in the coming months.

Such a powerful statement collection showing that Mr. Gurung is just getting better and better. I also love that Prabal stayed true to his roots and used Nepalese model Varsha Thapa. She is absolutely gorgeous and I hope to see her on more runways during Fashion Weeks all around the globe.

Visit www.prabalgurung.com for more information and see more looks from the Spring 2012 collection below.

*Images courtesy of Style.com.