American fashion is experiencing a period of reckoning, particularly the many brands born in the heady fashion swirl of the late Nineties and through the Aughts. Among the most prominent: Proenza Schouler, the design duo of Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, who are now no longer glamour start-up kids but established designers in survival-growth mode.
A year ago, McCollough and Hernandez decamped from New York to show in Paris, which heightened their ongoing interest in artisanal craft. Their spring homecoming marked a sharp shift in that mind-set. The collection they showed on Monday was something of a shocker, an exploration of silhouette and surface texture in three basic materials: denim, cotton shirting and a touch of leather.
“Coming back to New York for us, it’s like, what is American fashion? What feels relevant now? What do our friends want to wear, and what feels real?” Hernandez said during a preview.
Offered McCollough, “We wanted to maybe move away from something that feels a little more special occasion and go into something that feels a little more everyday.”
Translation: Embroideries and feathers are swell, but these guys want to sell. Inspired by the response to their lower-priced PSWL line — their friends want to wear it —
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