Walk Like A Girl Is Prabal Gurung's New Memoir
A raw, powerful memoir about identity, resilience, and connecting to with the femininity in the face of rejection
Walk Like A Girl is the American fashion designer Prabal Gurung's new memoir that reveals the raw truths behind his rise to fame. More than his journey from Nepal to the fashion world, the Singaporean-born fashion designer has far more to tell.
Its about the journey of a boy from Nepal who spent some time in Singapore, some in India and Nepal, and eventually ended by styling and designing some of the most famous people in the world: Oprah, Michelle Obama, Kate Middleton, and recently the Punjabi pop icon Diljit Dosanjh for the Met Gala.
In the memoir that has made its debut on Tuesday from Penguin Random House reveals the raw, unvarnished truth about his life growing up. The designer who moved to New York and studied at the Parsons School of Design and eventually started his own label in 2009, shares his story of pain, survival, and unapologetic self discovery in Walk Like A Girl.
For Gurung a lot of the writing and record of the memoir had him process his childhood experiences with an abusive father at home and bullies and predators at school- one of the hardest thing he’s ever done.
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“I really hadn’t told too many people, not even my close friends. To relive that part and to write it down … it was harrowing, I won’t lie,” Gurung told The Associated Press.
“It really brought back so many memories and … it’s less of an anger. It’s more like the injustice of the situation. More than anything else, I just wanted to go back to that kid and like, give him a hug … and just be like, ‘You’re gonna be OK,’” Gurung said, choking back tears.
Born in Kathmandu, the fashion designer was raised by his mother, Durga Rana, and witnessed the relentless strength it took to defy a society that demanded conformity.
According to Gurung, she is the hero of the book as she gave him the strength and the courage to follow his passions and find joy wherever possible, even though his interest in fashion and experimentation with makeup and feminine clothing at a time was highly unconventional in Nepal.
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But that's not all, he candidly discusses the moments of rejection and the loneliness of not fitting the mold. Though with each setback, drove Gurung to fuel his drive and succeed on his own terms.
At its core, Walk Like A Girl, is a celebration of finding power in vulnerability, believing in oneself and a strong reminder that our differences, often seen as liabilities are the very things that can propel us forward when we embrace them fully.
The memoir narrates the tale of stitching up a space when the world tries to tell you there is none where you can fit in. It is a declaration of what it means to walk unapologetically in your own truth, no matter the cost.
Walk like a girl is a phrase often used as an insult. But the fashion designer who is today a mainstay at the Met Gala, through his memoir attempts to reclaim it. To him its not about weakness but grace, strength and owning one's full identity.