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Proenza Schouler founders leave the brand

After 23 years, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez start looking for new projects

Proenza Schouler founders leave the brand  After 23 years, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez start looking for new projects

Today, two more designers join the - apparently - endless list of creative forces looking for a brand to lead: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, founders of Proenza Schouler, have decided to step down from the artistic direction of the brand. The designers' official departure from Proenza Schouler will take place on January 31, the brand announced, but the label created by McCollough and Hernandez will continue to exist. The two founders and CEO Shira Suveyke Snyder are already looking for the next creative director, while, according to WWD, McCollough and Hernandez will remain part of the company’s board. Proenza Schouler's participation in New York Fashion Week in the second week of February has not yet been confirmed, according to the event’s official calendars. To discover the professional future of the designers, we’ll have to wait, although, judging by the latest rumors, they may just be waiting for the right moment to reveal the news: according to unofficial sources, McCollough and Hernandez have been selected by LVMH to lead the maison Loewe, which has been under the artistic direction of Jonathan Anderson for years. No confirmation has yet been received from any of the parties involved in the matter.

Proenza Schouler was founded in 2002 by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, who met while studying fashion design at the prestigious Parsons School of Design. The brand's name corresponds to their mothers’ last names and was first used for their graduation thesis, on which they collaborated. Once presented, the collection was purchased in its entirety by the New York luxury chain Barneys, and thus Proenza Schouler was born. Over the years, the brand has helped American fashion find a new identity, particularly through the careful use of metallic details and minimal yet elevated silhouettes. In 23 years, the brand has won five CFDA Awards, the Swarovski Award in 2003, the Accessory Designer of the Year award in 2009, and the Womenswear Designer of the Year award in 2007, 2011, and 2013. Among the most memorable accessories in the brand’s history is the satchel bag PS1, a model that perfectly embodies the two creatives’ passion for functional and aesthetically balanced designs.