Creative Directors and founders of Proenza Schouler, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernanez, have announced their departure from their namesake brand.
The pair will officially finish up their decades-long tenure at the label they founded in 2002 by the end of the month.
McCollough and Hernandez first met at Parsons School of Design, where a collaborative senior thesis became the brand’s first ever collection. A collection, that was bought in its entirety by Barneys New York, cementing the luxury womenswear and accessories brand as one to watch straight out of the gate.
Named after the designers’ mothers’ maiden names, Proenza Schouler continued to dominate discourse as a stalwart of the New York fashion scene.
While the news came as a shock, rumours had begun to circulate after Proenza Schouler was notably absent from the upcoming New York Fashion Week schedule, and now we know why.
“The time feels right to make the personal decision to step down from our day-to-day leadership role at the company and hand over the creative reins to someone new,” Hernandez revealed in a statement following the news.
“We have always valued risk-taking and a sense of adventure and feel ready to open ourselves up for whatever comes next.”
“While change is never easy, this decision – one we’ve carefully considered – feels like the right step at the right time, at this stage in our lives,” added McCollough.
From John Galliano’s exit from Maison Margiela to Louise Trotter’s recent instalment at Bottega Veneta, and Matthieu Blazy’s takeover of Chanel, the departure is the latest update in the designer musical chairs currently in play.
The move also presents an interesting opportunity to test out those rumours (as reported by Puck‘s Lauren Sherman) that the designers might be heading to Loewe, paving the way for wunderkind Jonathan Anderson to take the helm at Dior.
Whatever happens, all eyes are on the Proenza Schouler founders as they step into the next phase of their fashion career.
Related articles:
- Chanel Names Matthieu Blazy As Artistic Director
- John Galliano Is Leaving Maison Margiela
- Louise Trotter Takes The Helm At Bottega Veneta
