Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough are inching their way into their 40s. They’re no longer New York’s cool kids, but they’re nothing if not cool. In a week packed front to back with Pre-Spring appointments, that’s the takeaway from their new collection for Proenza Schouler. Though they’re working with traditional silhouettes—pantsuits, shirtdresses, the trench—and using a palette of khaki, gray, white, and black that could be considered conservative, they’re good at imbuing their clothes with attitude.
Their suit jackets are a prime example. Cut oversized through the shoulder but tapered at the waist, they’re confident yet sensual. They’d never be mistaken for men’s tailoring, especially when they’re tucked into double-belted trousers. The coat offering, which was also strong, included a gold-buttoned white coat in a spongy technical wool with bold black lapels, and a wintry sheepskin with insets at the side ribs to give it a snug, less overpowering silhouette.
On the dress front, they returned to a successful shape, redoing the halter-bodice- and-pleated-skirt number of seasons back in stripes of black, white, and gold sequins. Their best new propositions had a more relaxed spirit. A drop-waist shirtdress and a pleated and belted midi dress with Jackson Pollock–esque squiggles looked like smart investments: the kind of easy but memorable pieces a woman would return to again and again.
Side note: Hernandez and McCollough have relaunched their advanced contemporary collection, White Label, to be less streetwear-inflected and more straightforwardly delineated from their main line. That seems like a smart move. They’ve accumulated a lot of fans in their 16 years in business who have been priced out of Proenza Schouler. PSWL’s array of excellent knits in particular will enable them to buy in.
