Proenza Schouler

Proenza Schouler was founded in 2002 by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, two students from Parsons School of Design in New York who met as undergraduates and turned their senior thesis into a brand. The name combines their mothers' maiden names. The label took an unusual path — Barneys New York bought the entire senior thesis collection straight off the runway, and Vogue gave the new house its first cover story within twelve months. The Proenza vocabulary settled around a few signatures: precision American tailoring, fabric experimentation (printed silks, hand-painted leather, the Tate canvas of the PS1 bag), industrial detailing on luxe materials, and a sustained interest in art-world reference points (collaborations with Harmony Korine, Carrie Mae Weems, and Calvin Klein's archives). The PS1 satchel (2008) became one of the defining 'It bags' of its decade. In 2024 McCollough and Hernandez left Proenza Schouler to take over Loewe — Jonathan Anderson's former post — in one of luxury's more closely-watched creative transitions. The Proenza Schouler creative director seat passed to former Proenza intern Rachel Scott (founder of Diotima) in 2025. The brand remains controlled by its founders and external investors and continues to operate flagships in New York (Mercer St), Tokyo, and Los Angeles. Few American luxury brands have changed creative leadership while keeping both directions productive for so long.