Prabal Gurung on Future Design Collaborations and Being Considered for Dior

Hannah Thomson for J.Crew

At last night’s CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Party at J.Crew, CFDA winner Billy Reid and runners up Prabal Gurung and Eddie Borgo were all on hand (along with the rest of the New York fashion world) to celebrate the limited edition collaborations they designed for the specialty retailer.

I made a beeline for Gurung, who looked J.Crew-appropriate in marinière-ish top, as this is his first time doing a design collaboration at a lower price point (though we’re still crossing our fingers that there’s some truth to the rumor of a Target collab in the near future). Unfortunately most of his capsule collection weren’t on display last night (it rolls out in June–Reid’s is up first in May), but Marissa Webb, J.Crew’s head of women’s design, was wearing a pair of his tuxedo pants and you’re gonna want them. (Remember those tuxedo pants from Spring 2010 that had ties around the ankle? They’re just like those. Only slightly more affordable).

So how does he feel about doing a collaboration? “It was definitely interesting simply because it was a testing ground for something that I’ll do someday,” he said. “You have to understand, I didn’t know if it was possible the way I make clothes–they’re made in New York, fabrics are from Italy–for my style, my design, and the quality to [remain] in tact–and it is, so it was great to see that.” And Target begins to look more promising…

Gurung’s pants for J.Crew on Marissa WebbGurung was also on our radar as his name was unexpectedly tossed in the ring as a possible replacement for John Galliano at Dior, in a story that came out in WWD last week. He got a little nervous when we broached the subject and all he would say was this: “I feel extremely blessed that I’m in that lineup of designers that I’ve admired all this while…it’s unbelievable. It isn’t something I was expecting…I’m just going to say i was very humbled, grateful and thankful. I don’t want to say more.”