Kathmandu, Dec. 1 -- It is 10.30am when Prabal Gurung arrives at the Hotel Padma in Boudha. We are overlooking the grand stupa where the faithful, tourists and idlers all circumambulate, following the path of the rising sun.

Gurung introduces himself, as if I wouldn't know who he is. When we sit down, he picks up the menu and without even glancing at it, asks if he can have momos. Two decades of living in the US and dressing some of the world's most powerful women-Michelle Obama, Kate Middleton and Oprah Winfrey-has apparently not numbed Gurung's very Nepali hunger for momos. But that's just him. Despite being one of the most talked-about fashion designers in the world, he's never really lost sight of where he's come from.

And he's neve...