Proenza Schouler lights the way
The creative duo behind Proenza Schouler are leading anew generation of American design, writes Tessa Chan
Having just arrived from an "inspirational" nature trip to Fiji and New Zealand, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are fresh-faced and full of good humour when we meet at Lane Crawford in IFC Mall. Boyish charm aside, the creative duo behind Proenza Schouler have established themselves as two of the most serious contenders on New York's fashion scene since they founded their label in 2002.
It's their first Asian tour. They're here to present their spring-summer 2013 pre-collection and the new PS13 bag before heading off to Beijing. "We'd like to open up a store here next year," says Hernandez. "So we're meeting with different partners and sussing it all out."
Their spring-summer 2013 collection saw a collage of exotic python, red and black perforated leather. But the highlight was a series of dresses made from digital prints of random images - a crowded swimming pool, a tree, a beach - adorned with bright pink studs and silver eyelets. They cite German artist Gerhard Richter as their inspiration.
"He takes these banal shots, and does paintings over them, so the photos become a base - a compositional element," says Hernandez.
"It's almost as if the embellishment comes to the foreground and the photo print recedes, becomes almost obsolete. It becomes more about the colours than the subject matter," adds McCollough.
