New York Fashion Week 2023: Proenza Schouler’s latest show favours function over fantasy, while celebrating iconic women like Chloë Sevigny for its 20th anniversary

Feb 13, 2023

Fashion from Proenza Schouler’s latest collection is modelled backstage in a first-look setup, during Fashion Week, on February 11, in New York. Photo: AP

On February 11, US fashion label Proenza Schouler celebrated its 20th-anniversary collection with pared-back, subtle designs, evolving from its previously avant-garde and conceptual shows

Led by designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, the idea was to veer away from getting wrapped up in a narrative or theme, and to focus on the sophistication of women through pragmatism

US fashion label Proenza Schouler on February 11, presented a low-key, functional collection, without its past conceptual showiness, as the brand marks its 20th anniversary at New York Fashion Week.

Models wearing creations by Proenza Schouler gather backstage before their runway show during New York Fashion Week on February 11. Photo: AFP

This year, designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough said they broke with their typical creative process.

Most often, “we get wrapped up in like a narrative or a theme or a vibe”, Hernandez said after the weekend show.

Fashion from Proenza Schouler latest collection is modelled backstage in a first-look set-up, during Fashion Week, on February 11, in New York. Photo: AP

“This season, we started with literally headshots of the women in our lives that we look up to and respect on a personal level, on a stylistic level,” he continued.

Those women included American actor Chloë Sevigny, who opened the show on February 11, wearing a suit and a long skirt of leather, a material used prominently in the collection.

Chloë Sevigny opening the show for Proenza Schouler on February 11, at New York Fashion Week. Photo: @chloessevigny/Instagram

Long an avant-garde and conceptual label, Proenza Schouler has evolved in recent years to build a more pragmatic wardrobe. This autumn and winter 2023 collection appears to be a culmination of that trend.

“We’re tired of all this fantasy, and like, Instagram clothes,” Hernandez said.