Great Outfits in Fashion History: Amanda Seyfried in Purple Prabal Gurung

Last Updated: 07 February 2022

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Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

There are perfectly good celebrity style moments, and then there are the looks that really stick with you, the ones you try desperately to recreate at home. In 'Great Outfits in Fashion History,' Fashionista editors are revisiting their all-time favorite lewks.

If you're a fashion-obsessed person — and I'll go ahead and assume that, if you're reading this website, you count yourself in this category — over time, you develop a short list of all-time favorite collections; whether because they emotionally resonated with you or because you coveted every single piece that came down the runway, they stick with you well past their supposed expiration date.

The Spring 2012 season was full of these sorts of runways for me, but one which stands out most in my memory was that by Prabal Gurung. That collection, inspired by "erotic images of women bound in rope by the photographer Nobuyoshi Araki," featured floral prints refracted through a funhouse mirror in shades of purple and seafoam; bondage strap detailing and latex coating lived alongside floaty chiffon panels and delicate silks, a combination that perfectly illustrated his "femininity with a bite" ethos.

As thrilling as my favorite collections are on the runway, it's always equally exciting to see these pieces come to life on the red carpet, to see how the Hollywood styling complex interprets the work for A-list clients. Take, for example, how a drop-waisted dress from Prabal Gurung Spring 2012 was worn by Amanda Seyfried at the 2011 premiere of her movie "In Time": The swingy volume gets corralled by a black belt, giving it more shape, and black platforms give it heft.