You've seen him over and over. You just didn't know it. Mac Duggal's designs have been quietly gracing most every reality show you've ever indulged in: The Voice, American Idol, all 13 seasons of the Bachelorette, The Bachelor, Dancing with the Stars, The Real Housewives Series the list goes on. The designer's influence on fashion is immeasurable and up to this point, quietly so.
Indian born and Chicago based, for over 30 years Mac Duggal has been stealthily building a brand that affects us all, wielding global influence in a way that many designers with bigger names only dream of. Working tirelessly behind the scenes dressing the worlds biggest TV and reality stars, like Chrissy Metz, Giuliana Rancic, Khloe Kardashian, to name a few, it's time for the world to know who Mac Duggal is.
This year his show at NYFW was finally proof that Mac Duggal's days in the shadows of fashion are over. With a mind blowing attendance of 1500 people, and 400 more people looping around a Lower East Side of Manhattan block just hoping to gain entrance to the Angel Orensanz Center, word is out that Mac Duggal is the next big gown designer. Attendees like Nick Cannon, Halima Aden (the face of Rihanna's hit new beauty line), and Vogue model and Trans Activist Carmen Carrera prove that Mac Duggal is the biggest designer you've never heard of. Yet.
Mac Duggal's triple threat influence of dressing Reality Stars, Hollywood celebrities, and prom queens nationwide for decades packs a punch. In attendance were a swath of reality stars, including the headlining star from a new soon to be announced E! reality show, Sky Landish from VH1's Love & Hip Hop, and many more.
The show was not just another parade of gowns, either. It was a celebration of some of the biggest current influences on fashion right now: body positivity, diversity and reality TV stardom. Models of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds paraded down the catwalk in stunningly intricate gowns, made with new and traditional methods. A combination of advanced production techniques like 3-D printed of lace, and artisanal handwork of embroidery, beading and sequins, the show was a celebration of the age-old craft of making beautiful gowns as well as of the beauty of the women who wear them.