September 10, 2022 |
There was a new, hedonistic energy to the Proenza Schouler wardrobe this season. Kicking off the first big day of NYFW’s chunkiest schedule since the pandemic began, designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez lent into the former’s Latin roots for a collection that collided flamenco flamboyance with nods to the natural world, glued together with that refined, New Yorker elegance that has remained a key selling point across the 20 years Proenza Schouler has been in business.
Against a projected waterfall backdrop, the likes of Bella Hadid, Kendall Jenner and Shalom Harlow emerged as if they’d just taken a dip – with dewy complexions and wetted locks. Though this troupe’s fringed, crocheted twinsets, ruched leather skirts and pulka-dotted frocks – cut short, knotted at the waist, and exposed at the hips – would feel more at home on strobe-drenched dancefloors. The opening look – modelled by experimental musician Arca – consisted of a puffy skirt and a tank top pulled across the shoulder to expose the mid-riff and a curtain of fringe – as if caught mid-motion amongst a sea of sweaty bodies. The following procession of flamenco-inspired bell bottoms and sleeves that cascaded with ruffles showed the design duo at their most joyous. These are clothes built for life’s simplest pleasures.
Photography courtesy of Proenza Schouler.
