collection lancel Inspiration came from artist-philosopher Lee Ufan, whose boulder-and-steel-plate strewn installations at Versailles this past June first attracted the designer, who confessed he was drawn to “something so opulent paired with something so stark,” and whose 1980s brushstroke paintings reminded Gurung of deconstructed tulips, leading, naturally enough, to Robert Mapplethorpe’s infamous, erotically charged photographs of the blooms. And in the manner of all good autostereograms, once you saw the tulips, you couldn’t stop seeing them: whether resplendent in relief on brocade trousers or a sleek sheath dress to the flared hem of most skirts. This interconnected feeling was not an accident: She of the marabou-accented crop top and full ball skirt is also she of the color-blocked cashmere knit and the abbreviated shearling vest, should she so desire. (Gurung’s girls’ requisite edge was evident in the tooth-like jagged silver toggles—there’s that “bite” again—used to close chiffon sleeves and flowing satin blouses; that little metallic angle was inspired by the peaked end of Gurung’s first name on his label as designed by Fabien Baron’s branding company, Baron & Baron.) “The idea is to build a wardrobe for our girl, to have something for every part of her day,” Gurung said, showing off a luscious and light cashmere cape, crafted in Nepal. “There’s a pragmatism to the opulence.”