Proenza Schouler Catwalk fashion Show New York FW2015

The work of the abstract expressionists of the midcentury New York School inspired Proenza Schoulers fall collection. The designers looked specifically at the work of Helen Frankenthaler.

The collection pulsed with a raw power that started if not quietly, then simply, in the unfinished edges of thick tweeds and escalated into an intense tribal reverie. The first look set the tone of bravado — a tweed jacket and pants, everything about it exaggerated: unfinished seams, extralong sleeves; wide, looped-over self-belt; pants made of flapping panels, giant-sized fishnet hose, a thick, circular shawl encasing the shoulders.

All of those elements would recur, becoming more extreme in a fabulous display of fashion. The dominant silhouette was lean through the torso, releasing into more volume starting with the powerful lineup of coats and jackets in spotted calf, boiled felt inspired by the splayed felt work of Robert Morris. The fabrics were major, from the array of tweeds to various needle-punched treatments, including a black and red chiffon crepe that created a mottled, aged effect.

The weightiness of the outerwear found counterpoint in a new take on the bandage dress, wrapped and slashed to reveal skin and attitude. Another dress, a white sheath, got tufts of au sauvage fur at the waist and shoulders. Eventually these ideas mingled, becoming increasingly decorative for the finale of triballike motifs rendered in slashes, eyelets, grommets and intense embroideries, worn by a procession of glamorous she-warriors. Power dressing of a different sort.