PROENZA SCHOULER | FALL / WINTER 2010

Starlets flock to Proenza like bees to honey, nursing on the label’s well-tailored dresses, edgy accessories and funky prints.

The story behind design duo Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough’s success is fairly well-known in the fashion world. After meeting junior year at Parsons School of Design in New York, the two collaborated on their senior collection. So successful was the show that Barney’s bought the entire line—a rare occurance for designers still in school. Proenza Schouler, a name that pays homage to their mothers’ maiden names, quickly found success by receiving both critical and popular acclaim. The label won the Council of Fashion Design in America’s (CFDA) Perry Ellis Award, reserved for emerging designers, in 2003 (they graduated in 2002) and were awarded CFDA Womenswear Designers of the Year in 2007. Young celebrities like Chloe Sevigny and Kate Bosworth are consistently spotted in Proenza, making the label virtually unavoidable in popular culture.

Though Hernandez and McCollough can normally be seen sporting plaid button-downs and jeans, the design duo has cultivated a line of known for sleekness and eclectism. Although recently shying away from their celebrated bustiers, the signature tailoring remains. Spring / Summer 2010 saw wrapped shirtdresses and sleek minis awash in technicolor tiedye, a trend that, albeit slightly more subdued, continued into Fall / Winter. The predominant print this season was made by taking plaid and wiggling it back-and-forth over a scanner to create a jagged translation of the iconic pattern. The new print was interpreted on pants, skirts and dresses throughout the show in traditional black-and-white and the occasional pop of blue. The collection in its entirety hardly deviated from black and, on the rare occasion that it did, featured dark complementary colors like plum and navy.

The designers have received press in recent years for their successful collaboration with Target, an American chain store, and the inception of their accessories line. The popular PS1 bag, which comes in a range of colors, debuted in a more traditional palatte of black, white and metallics this season. Shoes featured metallic crocodile prints paired with bold leather buckles and sky-high platforms.

- Emily Freisher