Fashion Talks Proenza Schouler @ fi:af

The French Institute in New York is having some exceptional fashion events going on over the next few weeks. Last week’s “Fashion Talks” with Proenza Schouler was a fun journey down current fashion history lane. Proenza Schouler started around the time I was graduating from my fashion studies at SCAD. By the time I came to New York for my first design opportunity, they were well on the radar and a true influence in what I wanted to see in the collections I was working on. It’s great to see that eleven years later, they are still evolving and making an original statement in a (very difficult) post 2008 market.

 

Let’s face it, fashion has been in trouble for some while as described by Dana Thomas in “Deluxe: How Luxury Lost it’s Luster” and explained by Teri Agins in “The End of Fashion“. After the death of Alexander McQueen and the estrangement of John Galliano we’ve been abandoned to shop the GAP for self expression. American design has never been rich with couture, but luxury still has it’s place and the fellas at Proenza Schouler keep luxury at the forefront of their collections.

 

 Sally Singer moderated the conversation with some really interesting points. After all, she practically raised these boys from their first collection with Barney’s. They discussed how they contrast craft with technology, describing how it’s mixed to create a luxurious garment with hand details. “What’s more luxurious than something that’s hand made and takes time?” A single design can have portions constructed in as many as 3 to 4 different countries.

 

They explained how they never really “planned” to be a global brand, that it happened very organically. They also admitted how that scenario would be highly unlikely to succeed these days. “It’s not like that now, now you have to know who you are from the beginning, there is so much Brand out there. When we started there were 40 shows, now there are 400, so much noise, so many voices. You better have a voice and be sure you are saying something if you want to stand out.”

   

“We don’t like to define too many things, we’re kind of schizophrenic. There is a contemporary cult of designers in a gilded cage protected by assistants. We never want to be that. We want to be out in the world.”

 

 

 If you remember their first few collections (I sure do) there was the trapunto stitched bra cup that permeated as a theme for a few seasons. I considered this a part of my (self guided) graduate study. I designed into the same look and I even draped it to learn the construction.

 

 

Jack and Lazaro even went to so far to say that they (may have) grown up a little. We had no ambitions to be a “Brand” we just wanted to dress our friends. Sally pointed out the “Preppy / Disco / Hawaii” collection and it’s clubbie vibe compared to recent collections. “We watch the attitude of the women in our lives, we don’t want to alienate other generations, it’s more of a spirit.”

 

   

   

 

 When asked about what inspires the work and how they proceed in an ever increasing demand for newness they talked about the music they listen to; Kurt Cobain, and Mazzy Star. They look at photographers like Irving Penn and Richard Avedon and artists like Gerhard Richter and Helen Frankenthaler. Frankenthaler was an abstract artist in the 50’s who they described as a strong woman in what was, at the time, “a tough guy’s” art world with the likes of Jackson Pollock.

 

 

 

They talked of how they embrace a similar working process as Frankenthaler with controlled experimentation. That is; commanding the medium but allowing things to happen and leave the end result to chance. This is something essential to innovation but very difficult for the current fashion demand to maintain, considering the delivery schedule of 6 shows a year. Sally asked them how they maintain a fresh exuberance for design under this kind of pressure.  In a time of customer-centric analytics and buy reports, how do you stay alert of what hasn’t happen when you are so focused on who bought what, how do you stay fresh?

 

 

   

 

Simply put: they escape. They have a house upstate that they retreat to and collaborate between themselves. They also enjoy traveling the globe for inspiration. They recently returned from a trip to Cuba where they visited Lazaro’s family. Jack had observed how everyone is happy and enjoys life in a place where people have nothing. “There are lots of miserable people in New York”, He said. That makes him grateful for what they are able to do when they return to the studio. Lazaro said of a relative who asked him what he does, “Is that like Zara?” Jack laughed, “I wish.”

 

 

 

Sally continued to ask about the future of the brand. “Fashion is a business you can’t just thrive on creativity, you have to pay the bills.” the duo said, “Now days you really have to have a Brand, a vibe, a manifesto. We weren’t that ambitious” (when we started out).

Sally exclaimed, “You have to be (ambitious) in fashion, otherwise it’s just too much work!”  My coworker and I in the audience busted out laughing in exasperated agreement.

Jack and Lazaro discussed potential plans for men’s wear and fragrance but maintained that if it happened, it would be because they have something to say.

 

   

 

 What still inspires me about these two (besides the bra cup) is that they have not only survived, they have flourished on their own identity, their own vision and it has created a unique Brand in a very tough market.  There is opportunity and the clear path to it, regardless of circumstance, is to follow your own unique vision; pass or fail. In this industry you gotta own it. These boys know who they are and they have a voice. I just love to watch them winning in a sea of sameness.