Prabal Gurung

People on the outside and even some people in the fashion industry think that fashion people are maybe not the smartest. It's a constant battle.

Change doesn't come from staying in your safe space.

Nothing scares a straight man more than a woman in her full glory.

When I came to America, there were two kinds of women: women who looked serious and who didn't wear color and print, and women who looked girly and feminine and like second wives.

The woman I design for is very curious. She loves fashion, but she also is passionate about what is happening around the world.

The sources of inspiration from my travels have been unending.

I've always been interested in a femininity with a bite. I always think a little bit of a kick is great.

The first time I saw my look on a real person was in Paris, and I felt a little shock, a little thrill that went through my body. And that thrill never goes away - never.

For my first big Fashion Week event, the factory wouldn't give me my clothes because I didn't have the $25,000 it cost to make them.

I've always found it interesting when I look at a woman, and she's beautiful and everything, but there's an inner strength.

As someone who started a company with an idea of creating a luxury brand with a soul, I needed to learn more about how I effect change.

Fashion has a huge responsibility - in what we show on the runway, what we do in editorial, who we dress - to make sure it represents differences. If we don't, we're giving in to the discrimination.

I came here because I wanted to live the American dream that I had heard of. And I'm a perfect example. I came to New York; I knew no one. I've made a career, a life, so I still believe in that.

A lot of people have an opinion. If you listen to them too much, your work will get influenced, and you make no one happy.

I was definitely considered different growing up. I learned that being me was all right because my family celebrated those differences.

I just really enjoy life.

You want to question what is important and why is it important. I don't have all the answers, but I'm very curious to know and learn.

I really feel blessed that I'm able to do what I love and make a living at it and have people come and see it. I mean, what an incredibly blessed life!

Fashion has always had the ability to affect lives, to touch people. But for the longest period of time, we've said, 'Oh, we're just pages of a magazine; that's what we all look at.' It's more than that.

I decided if it was going to be a mistake to come to New York and try and make a career in fashion, then it was going to be my mistake... But the American dream is real. I'm living it.