Proenza Schouler Takes the Slow and Steady Approach

Ana Colón

February 10, 2024 at 6:09 PM·5 min read

Wisdom comes with age, they say. And when you grow up in the fashion industry, as Jack McCollough and Lázaro Hernández have, you learn a thing or two about what works and what doesn't. Now, more than two decades into their business, the design duo behind Proenza Schouler are all about taking a slow and steady approach to their collections.

"Back in the day, every season was about a totally new thing, a complete evolution," McCollough told press backstage at the Fall 2024 show on Saturday. "We're trying to think about the woman — building the idea [through] slow evolution, bringing in new shapes, silhouettes, forms, textures, but, ultimately, it's just the same girl."

That explains why you see reiteration, a handful of elements that have featured prominently in recent collections that reappear in Fall 2024, such as translucency (via sheer tops and pants, sometimes layered over opaque fabrics, sometimes not) and styling in media res (like knits wrapped around the waist, as if folded over while in the process of putting on over the head, and attached scarves and snoods thrown casually over the shoulder).

It's not only because these ideas are timeless, as relevant in the spring as they are the fall, year after year: Hernández explained that they're also more patient with the process, not eager to rush something that isn't fully fleshed out just because samples are due.

"Sometimes you work on something that doesn't quite feel complete for the season, so you put her on hold — maybe it's complete next season and you put it in next season," he said. A couple of those lace dresses, we were working on those for a year. We were going to put them in the last show, and then we were like, 'We're not ready for that.' We kept developing and developing, and now they felt ready."

The lace dresses Hernández described are among the standouts of the season, made from embroidered tulle that almost dissolves down to just the most basic structure, then is stacked into the finished draped product. The collection isn't necessarily about calling attention to select looks, but rather rounding out the wardrobe according to the needs of the customer and their lifestyle: outerwear that offers coverage but also is elegant and can be thrown on over anything and be A Moment, layers that can be taken on or off depending on the vibe or desired coverage, low-rise skirts that don't feel try-hard or like you're trying to cosplay as Gen Z.

"The beauty of the consistency we're trying to achieve throughout the seasons is that we can save them for another season, bring them up later," McCollough added. "We want to be making clothes that don't feel throwaway, that you're going to own for a long time. I think that's how people dress these days."

Accessories are another constant at Proenza Schouler, and the shoes and bags on offer for Fall 2024 are aligned with the designers' philosophy of dressing the modern metropolitan woman for her busy and full life: flat soles, leather loafers and boots, slinky sandals with low heels, shoulder bags with plenty of zips and pockets, elegant evening clutches that are sculptural conversation pieces.

See all the looks from the Proenza Schouler Fall 2024 collection below.