The Google car and Amazon's delivery drones were the topics of conversation pre-presentation at Proenza Schouler's Broadway offices today. "We're living in the future," Lazaro Hernandez said. For Pre-Fall, though, Hernandez and Jack McCollough said they're continuing to think along the "relaxed, organic" lines of their last runway show.
The high-waisted gauchos they introduced in September are back, this time around in buttery-soft plonge leather or suede. Some will see the 1970s glory days of Anjelica Huston in the cropped, wide-leg pants, but Jack and Lazaro were vibing on their streetwise board-short look. The designers also revisited Spring's sleeveless dress with an A-line skirt. Pointing out that "the pre-collections are about product and about filling our stores," they swapped metallic foil for more humble materials such as black and white cotton velvet flocked jacquards. The Mexican-blanket-inspired stripe of one such frock rewarded close inspection; its raised, 3-D pattern felt great in the hand. In the end, perhaps, it wasn't so humble at all, merely better suited for everyday wear.
Downtown yet deluxe is an apt description for their coats and jackets, too, which are made from sheared broadtail with generous, shoulder-covering shearling collars. A beaded black chiffon evening dress that jangled as the model did her showroom circuit—each embroidery is a stack of four separate beads—looks destined to be a future heirloom.
