The very messy game of designer musical chairs that rocked the fashion world at the end of 2024 continues into 2025.
On Wednesday, Proenza Schouler, the New York brand once considered the future of New York fashion, announced it was stepping down from the company founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. He will remain on the board of directors and continue to be a minority shareholder. We are currently looking for their replacements.
No reason was given for the decision, other than simply that the time felt “right,” and there was no word on what the designers would do next. Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez have reportedly begun thinking about pursuing other opportunities after their 20th anniversary in 2022, and hired new CEO Shira Sveik in October last year as part of managing the transition. Mr. Snyder was appointed.
Still, the fact that designers are leaving the companies they founded when they are relatively stable and relatively young (Hernandez and McCollough are 46 years old) does not result in feuds or rifts with backers. As far as it goes, it's almost unprecedented. The designer plans to take another job.
McCollough and Hernandez could set a new precedent for their career paths. But they are also widely rumored to be being considered as new designers for LVMH-owned Spanish brand Loewe, replacing Jonathan Anderson, who has been said to be heading to Dior for several months. (A spokesperson declined to comment on the move.)
Anderson has not officially left Loewe, nor has Maria Grazia Chiuri, Dior's women's wear creative director who would theoretically replace him. Dior menswear creative director Kim Jones also recently re-signed with the brand.
LVMH, which previously considered acquiring Proenza Schouler, has neither confirmed nor denied various anonymous reports suggesting all of the above, despite rumors circulating on social media. Neither Loewe nor Proenza Schouler nor Mr. Anderson's namesake brand JW Anderson are on the schedule for upcoming fashion shows in New York, Paris and London.
Headhunters say major luxury brand groups are now asking designers who hold positions at their fashion houses to stop working with their brands. For example, Calvin Klein's new designer Veronica Leoni put her Quilla collection on hold when she took on a bigger job.
All of this is fueling even more speculation about who's going where.
The only thing we know for sure is that even though the Proenza Schouler is synonymous with Mr. McCollough and Mr. Hernandez, the designers intend for the Proenza Schouler to survive without them. The store has not closed or suspended, and a second store is scheduled to open in New York in February. (The February women's collection will be released digitally; the fate of the planned men's collection is TBD.)
It's less clear what Proenza Schouler, named after McCollough and Hernandez's mothers, would be without its founder.
Proenza is known for its cool, urban art gallery vibe and hit bags (PS1), as well as the highly mediagenic Ms. McCollough and Ms. Hernandez, five-time Fashion Designers of America Award winners. , despite being championed by Anna Wintour, Schooler never really lived up to its promise of becoming the next great American brand.
Within the industry, the designers are still known as “proenza boys”, reflecting the sense that they are still designers on the brink. Two collections shown during haute couture shows in Paris were poorly received, and the company has struggled with a turnover of investors. (Currently, Proenza Schouler is majority owned by Madric Capital.)
Proenza's job opening will be joined by those at Fendi, Maison Margiela and Helmut Lang, further reshaping the fashion world amid an unprecedented turnover of designers. Eight creative directors will debut this year as fashion houses look to offer something new in the face of a downturn in global luxury spending. The dominoes aren't finished falling.
