Over the last year or so, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez have been charting a new course. With the help of private investment, they’ve taken the reins of their brand financially, most recently wiping the slate clean for Proenza Schouler White Label, their advanced contemporary project which hits stores this month. Their latest pre-fall offering is a clear sign that they’re hitting their stride creatively once again too.
The collection effectively picks up where their last runway show in September left off, on a series of fluid, matte jersey evening looks. The designers have been moving away from their sketchbooks toward a more hands-on approach to making clothes. The draping, knotting, and tying techniques they’ve been experimenting with lent an ’80s-inflected attitude to day dresses in autumnal colors that were cinched with asymmetric leather belts and furnished with chic gold buttons. One painterly print dress with gently sculpted shoulders in particular was an alluring reinterpretation of a recognizable Proenza signature; ditto for the artisanal tie-dyed velvet maxiskirts and frocks.
That languid mood continued through to the outerwear with transitional coats that had the ease of robes. Cut with soft and voluminous proportions, the double-faced cashmere and suede pieces were a fitting reflection of their new grown-up agenda, luxurious and practical in equal measure. McCollough and Hernandez have been honing their take on tailoring, reconfiguring the traditional suit with cool idiosyncrasies. The slouchy wool blazer they showed with black peg-leg leather pants, for example, was nipped at the waist and tucked at the shoulder seam in just the right way. And as far as evening goes, their iteration of a tuxedo will be hard to beat; the crystal-embellished black tunic-over-pants combination seems destined for red-carpet success. (The only question mark here is which one of their stylish A-list friends will call dibs on it first.)
As to where these two might be headed next season, the answer is short and sweet in the most literal sense. The designers are embracing mini lengths for the first time in years, and a neat A-line cocktail-hour silhouette looked especially fresh paired with their new lace-up flats. Youthful yet sophisticated, new territory like this will be well worth exploring.
