Prabal Gurung 2013ss (NYFW)

For the past two seasons, designer Prabal Gurung has explored a taut, sharp vision for his collections. While he's never shied away from fanciful embellishment or painterly florals, they've always been executed with an exacting rigorousness that bordered on aggression. His vision of femininity contains a current of fierceness that customers respond to, as it encapsulates the modern ideal - a dash of both boldness and beauty. For spring/summer 2013, however, the designer softened slightly, and emphasized a floaty, frillier side of his aesthetic, which was a welcomed adjustment. Gurung’s collection seemed to breathe with a new sense of dynamism, and the results felt freer and confident. With model Joan Smalls leading the pack, Gurung's show loosened its grip on extreme tailoring, and featured a more liberated, easy form.

For the past two seasons, designer Prabal Gurung has explored a taut, sharp vision for his collections. While he's never shied away from fanciful embellishment or painterly florals, they've always been executed with an exacting rigorousness that bordered on aggression. His vision of femininity contains a current of fierceness that customers respond to, as it encapsulates the modern ideal - a dash of both boldness and beauty. For spring/summer 2013, however, the designer softened slightly, and emphasized a floaty, frillier side of his aesthetic, which was a welcomed adjustment. Gurung’s collection seemed to breathe with a new sense of dynamism, and the results felt freer and confident. With model Joan Smalls leading the pack, Gurung's show loosened its grip on extreme tailoring, and featured a more liberated, easy form.

The show gave plentiful options for evening, too, with drop-waist sleeveless dresses, with gathered skirt hems providing a fullness in shape before ending in undulating tiers just above the knee. Many dresses had been manipulated through pleating, with pinched and draped folds or criss-crossing ruffles, yet thanks to the gauzy fabrics nothing ever felt tortured. In fact, every look, even those topped with generously-cut jackets, felt utterly right for spring, whether you be a lady who frequents garden parties or house parties - though Gurung's muse is likely to be equally comfortable at both.