Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2017

Proenza Schouler is saying good bye to New York and moves to the fashionstage of Paris later this year. For their fare-well show they wanted to make it a celebration of New York and capture the way they feel about the Big Apple.
That translated into a trove of powerful new iterations of the high-intensity, gritty elegance that has become their signature. Out came a big, boxy outerwear piece, its utilitarian function not at all hindered by souped-up design elements — off-kilter twists, breaks and sometimes, wide, flying streamers proclaiming the brand’s name. Then followed a leather dress, twisted around the body and cinched tightly at the waist, and a cloud of two-tiered ivory flou, almost angelic even atop edgy black shoes. The designers worked bold abstract prints with the tribal resonance they love. Their collaged and layered dresses are wonders of construction and movement, most of them compilations of undulating shapes, color, texture and bare skin.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show NYC Womenswear FW2016

Program notes the Proenza Schouler collection cited American art of the Sixties and Seventies as an influence. The fall collection, the notes read, would explore “notions of control and release.” In terms of craft and the technical aspect of making clothes, that meant experimentation with cut and silhouette — when to hug the body, when to let loose with fabric, how to expose skin while avoiding vulgarity and cliché.

Two silhouettes anchored the lineup. Tailored looks featured long jackets, their shapeliness achieved via twisting of the fabrics and asymmetric closures, worn over low-slung, wide pants in fluid fabrics. Dresses kept close to the body on top, releasing into languid skirts. Either way, lacing figured prominently, for both decoration and function.

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.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York Womenswear FW2014

The designers of Proenza Schouler wanted a collection full with energy, creativity and life. And so they did. Of course not without their focus on fabric. Graphic combinations of black paired with orange, purple, turquoise, crimson and pink converged in patterns reminiscent of vinyl records and the Flintstones. These came mashed up on sporty separates and single garments, such as precise patchworks of leather and crepe on dresses. There were also technical lace and flock prints embroidered with bugle beads.
The fabric finish was flat, matte, almost scubalike and accentuated by architectural curves: a nipped waist and sleeves that were big at the shoulder tapered toward the wrist.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York Womenswear SS2014

Like many of this week’s collection Proenza Schouler breathed serenity and a sense of pureness. Inspired by mid-century furniture designers (and with ‘domesticity’ as a theme) Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough presented a nature inspired selection of looks of which the designers’Resort collection viagra pfizer canada turned out to be a small preview. Created in neutrals like cream, clay, navy and white they sent highly elegant designs down their runway. Like suede tops, pants and dresses, like luxurious coats with special turnlock closures. Like structured tops and dresses with a low V-line, as well as glamourous pleated lame skirts. A furlike coat stood out from the crowd and the one print for spring was black with a white paint roller effect to it. Cropped tops once again proved to create a strong look, especially in the mix of those long and lean looks. Bronze nature-inspired necklaces fit in with the collection’s theme. How far you can get with a theme that might appear so dull at first…

Trend Report SS2013: Patchwork Pioneers

So we’ve had the mixing bold (retro) prints and colors trend. Now it’s time to take it to another level. This season therefore is all about patchwork fashion items. Jackets, skirts and dresses made out of multiple – very different – fabrics sewn together. Though it’s more of a trend you’d usually associate with winter several designers (the patchwork pioneers) have been able to give it a fresh summer feeling. At Erdem light spring prints were combined with a leather snake fabrics. Antonio Marras mixed different fresh looking tweeds, army and floral prints together. Preen used colorful stripes and snake prints for his dresses and skirts. The designers at Proenza Schouler used snake skin for their patchwork too, as Rodarte experimented with a mix of colors, prints and materials. On the streets it was still a little too early to spot this patchwork phenomena (although the jersey sweaters with printed scarf parts are some kind of patchwork too). Yet once all girls are bored of their fully printed looks they’ll undoubtedly head into this direction.

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Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2012

Gone was the retro kitch of last season, it was hello to a more minimalist theme at Proenza Schouler for fall 2012. The dus had said they took inspiration from their trip to Peru and Bhutan. The show opened with crisp white cottons.  Big boxy jackets, shirtdresses and skirts were  flat, precise layers that folded across the body with uneven hems and workwear details.
After the extremes, a more understandable part came with natural shapes, including suit jackets and stiff wrap skirts made from intricately woven leather in red, black and gold.
The show ended on a distinct Oriental note. The designers vacationed in Bhutan in October when the country was focused on its king’s wedding. They were taken with the colors and patterns of the traditional national garb, which inspired the elaborate brocades they used for  short dresses with stiffened, arched hems, and a sweatshirt done in quilted silk embroidered with two exotic birds.

 

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York ss2012

It was pure irony, the ss2012 collection of Proenza Schouler. But beautiful irony. Their inspirations included Fifties car interiors; Googie architecture, and the work of Morris Lapidus, the architect behind Miami’s  Fontainebleau hotel. Well, to put it simple: it was about questionable taste.

Key pieces were tight cropped sweaters and a cobalt A-line skirt in eel skin that formed one-half of one of the lineup’s best looks — but the collection was not so  serious and sophisticated affair. McCollough and Hernandez worked their references with originality, precision and craftsmanship. They were not afraid to use the so-called bad-taste elements, like tiger-print car interiors and the orange, green and gold palette from the Seventies.
What made the collection strong was the mix of pinup and sultry secretary. Bustier tops were paired with pencil skirts in neon and tropical prints. Yet there was a crafty undercurrent throughout. Raffia was woven into color-blocked knits and remarkable dresses that had cutout maillot tops and wide-weave cage skirts. For the finale, the designers embroidered  Hawaiian florals on tulle dresses with open backs and narrow skirts. Talking about modern retro.

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York FW2011

Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez  of Proenza Schouler took their inspiration from a trip out West, to Santa Fe actually. Earthy desert colors, like orange, golden yellow and brown, dominated, and were worked into a graphic pattern. That pattern was created by the computer using Native American blankets. McCollough and Hernandez manipulated them into a strong urban-chic look.

The designers played their signatures with rich, highly engineered fabrics. The kaleidoscopic results looked unmistakably theirs. The slouchy cut of their pants, the undone way the back hem of a black suede camp shirt was shown untucked over a slim pencil skirt, or how a party dress with an asymmetric neckline was layered over a black tee.  The fabric innovation made things look quite new. Two great patent shearlings, pressed flat and cut with clean, sharp lines, required a double take. Chunky, viscose and leather knits worked a cozy street effect.  What was most impressive about this collection was that Hernandez and McCollough’s took traditionally homespun themes and made them look sophisticated and even edgy. When did crafted clothes looked so cool?

Proenza Schouler Catwalk Fashion Show New York SS2011

With their spring collection McCollough and Hernandez seemed to be heading in a new direction. Their clothes seemed more lady-like or, as the designers referred to it themselves, ‘more polished or grown up in a way.’

In a beautiful and soft color palette of pale lavender, pastel yellow, salmon, pink and peach they sent out Chanel-like matted tweed jackets, hand-died and T-shirt dresses and tees and sheer, loose-fitting tank-dresses.

Like in their Resort collection the designers worked with the special Japanese Shibori tie-dye technique, which fit perfect in this collection.

Their embroideries, ruffled details, softer approach and lingerie-looks made the collection very feminine. A few colorful bags and some arty necklaces where the only accessories of the show, but that was just fine.

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