NEW YORK, United States — Of all the male fashion designers working in New York today (the recent mass exodus to Paris not withstanding), Prabal Gurung is one of the most vocal advocates of femininity. For him, the runway is a place to explore the many facets of womanhood and engage in the zeitgeist-y dialogue on the "female gaze."

That's a lot for a designer known to spin a pretty dress or two down the red carpet. But it's how Gurung often justifies his thought process — and his product, which for Spring/Summer 2018 was inspired by personal dream diaries and the elegant female divers he encountered on a visit to a Japanese pearl farm. This pearl farm materialised in a frosty fine jewellery collaboration, but was also a poignant visual cue for Gurung's signature covered buttons, a design trope he continues to deploy across his collections in order to add lightness and an undone sense of movement.

Today they split rounded knit tops and attached a cotton peasant blouse to a contrast rib skirt, also feeding into a checkered story that apparently referenced said Japanese divers' choice of plaid trousers. Their mermaid's touch was felt later in floaty chiffon goddess gowns and ruffle-y, somewhat deconstructed cocktail dresses — all pretty, palatable options that made a stronger case for Prabal's message than the trendy tailored pieces that harboured bold shoulders and boned, corseted structures à la Jean Paul Gaultier.

Along with the heavy beaded dresses, they delivered unexpected volume in an otherwise light and romantic collection, which pushed Gurung’s feminine message into less travelled territories, as the designer mingled both trans and plus-size models with the Insta-stars on his catwalk.