Proenza Schouler defines deconstructed glamour for Fall 2019

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 12, 2019

New York native Proenza Schouler brought feminine power to life this fall in a show staged high above Hudson Yards.

A departure from the label’s more colorful and commercial Pre-Fall collection, Proenza Schouler’s Fall/Winter runway show unveiled a selection of monochrome and color-blocked looks that still channeled the label’s famously considered tailoring.

The looks’ precise lines and sharp edges were further intensified by hardware fasteners and pieces made of sleek leather, while select long-sleeved tops featured a delicate line of feathers that served as a soft contrast point.

Designs used precise cut-outs and seemingly unfinished panels to emphasize the collection’s refined construction, a tactic inspired by American artist Sol LeWitt’s incomplete cubes.

“Pieces are created as remnants of things that once were, thus calling on one’s memory to complete the composition, an act both deeply personal and subject to one’s understanding of the very thing in question: individuality, self-expression, and subjectivity being of paramount importance in today’s world,” the label explained in a release.

“The goal being to create a portrait, a contemporary biography, of an urban woman today, reveling in the glory of having sidestepped clear definitions or stifling labels. She is complex, contradictory even, yet remains completely and unapologetically herself.”

Following a three-season hiatus in Paris, this is Proenza Schouler’s second runway presentation in its hometown since it returned to NYC with its Spring 2019 show.

After a rather tumultuous past of structuring and restructuring, the brand's co-founders and designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jake McCollough recently bought back the entirety of their label.

In the process, the company also received a significant capital injection, a refreshed executive suite and a new board of directors, announcing plans to refocus the brand and push global growth – ambitious projects which Hernandez and McCollough seem to be taking in their stride with their latest confidently cut collection.