Proenza Schouler is a womenswear and accessories brand founded in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. In October 2024 Proenza Schouler appointed Shira Suveyke Snyder as chief executive officer, succeeding Kay Hong who had been in the role since 2018. In January 2025 Proenza Schouler announced that McCollough and Hernandez would cease designing for the company but would remain on the board and continue to be minority shareholders; they went to design for Loewe.

Etymology

"Proenza Schouler" is the

maiden name When a person (traditionally the wife in many cultures) assumes the family name of their spouse, in some countries and cultures that name replaces the person's previous surname, which in the case of the wife is called the maiden name ("birth name" ...

s of the two designers' mothers: Proenza is the maiden name of Hernandez's mother, and Schouler is the maiden name of McCollough's mother.

History

McCollough and Hernandez met while studying at

Parsons School of Design The Parsons School of Design is a private art and design college under The New School located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City. Founded in 1896 after a group of progressive artists broke away from established Manhattan art ...

, collaborating on their senior thesis, which would eventually become their first collection as Proenza Schouler. The collection was bought in its entirety by

Barneys New York Barneys New York is an American brand founded in 1923 by Barney Pressman that operated full-line department stores from 1923 until 2020. Authentic Brands Group acquired Barneys' intellectual property in 2019, and has licensed the brand to Saks F ...

. In 2008, Proenza Schouler introduced its first shoe collection, licensed through Giuseppe Zanotti, Vicini SpA. Later that year, Proenza Schouler launched its first

handbag A handbag, commonly known as a purse in North American English, is a handled medium-to-large bag used to carry personal items. It has also been called a pocketbook in parts of the U.S. Terminology The term "purse" originally referred to a smal ...

, the PS1, a satchel that has become the brand's signature. In 2012, Proenza Schouler signed a new

license agreement A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

with Onward Luxury Group to produce their footwear collections. The brand expanded into swimwear in 2014 when they signed a

licensing agreement A license (American English) or licence (Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another part ...

with Swimwear Anywhere to produce and distribute swimwear. In June 2015, Proenza Schouler signed a licensing agreement with

L'Oréal L'Oréal S.A. () is a French multinational personal care corporation registered in Paris

for the development and creation of fine fragrances. In 2017, Proenza Schouler announced their exit from the traditional ready-to-wear calendar to align with the couture calendar. This switch changed the location of their runway shows from New York to Paris, and merged their main and pre-collections, only showing twice a year. In November 2017 the brand launched a "sister" collection of casual basics like

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more Warp (weaving), warp threads. This twill weave produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. Denim, as it is recognized today, was f ...

and

T-shirts A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

called White Label.

Investors

In 2007, the

Valentino Fashion Group The Valentino Fashion Group is an Italian consortium of luxury fashion companies currently owned by the Qatari royal family. In 2002, the Valentino fashion house was purchased by the Marzotto Group, joining a group that included Hugo Boss, a ...

bought a 45% stake in Proenza Schouler. In 2011, Proenza Schouler announced a

partnership A partnership is an agreement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests. The partners in a partnership may be individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments or combinations. Organizations ...

with a group of investors, including Andrew Rosen, and John Howard. Castanea Partners acquired a

minority interest In accounting, minority interest (or non-controlling interest) is the portion of a subsidiary corporation's stock that is not owned by the parent corporation. The magnitude of the minority interest in the subsidiary company is generally less than ...

in the brand, appointing Judd Crane as CEO in the process, in 2015. In the last quarter of 2018, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez together with the help of private investors have bought back their company's shares from Castanea Partners reclaiming full ownership of the label.

Collaborations

Proenza Schouler launched its first collaboration in 2010, when they created an exclusive collection of hand painted denim with J Brand. In the same year, they collaborated with filmmaker Harmony Korine on their first original video
''Act Da Fool''
featuring the Fall 2010 collection. In 2013, Proenza Schouler celebrated their 10th anniversary by releasing a limited reissue of its Fall 2003 collection for

. The following year, in 2014, the designers collaborated with

MAC Cosmetics M A C Cosmetics is a Canadian cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto in 1984 by Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo. The company has been headquartered in New York City since becoming a subsidiary of Estée Lauder Companies in 1998. MAC is an acron ...

on a limited-edition makeup collection. The same year, the brand partnered with Parisian department store Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche for a capsule collection and exhibition. The exhibit allowed consumers to explore the world of Proenza Schouler through a display of 80 looks from past runway collections, a documentary about the brand, and an interactive 3-D cub installation. The following year, they collaborated with Harley Weir and Jen Brill on an original video
''Legs Are Not Doors''
featuring the 2015 Spring Collection. Proenza Schouler once again collaborated with Harley Weir and Jen Brill in 2016 on their second original video together
''PS I Love You (Ithigi Lithigove Yithigou)''
featuring the Pre-Fall 2016 collection.

Awards and honors

Awarded with the inaugural CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund award in 2004. Proenza Schouler has been honored with a total of five CFDA awards. In 2003, they were awarded with the Swarovski Award for Ready-to-Wear, and in 2009 they were honored with the Accessory Designer of the Year Award. In addition, they have been awarded the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award three times in 2007, 2011, and 2013. In 2014, they won the Designer of the Year award at the Accessories Council's annual ACE awards. Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez were honored as the special guests at the 4th edition of the

Pitti Pitti, also known as Pakshipitti (''pakshi'' meaning "bird" in Malayalam, Telugu and Tamil), is an uninhabited coral islet in the Union Territory of Lakshadweep, India. Geography It is located at about 24 km to the north of Kavaratti, 3 ...

W_Woman Precollection event in Florence. The following year, the designers were honored with the Fashion Star Award at the Fashion Group International's Night of Stars Gala. In 2013, the duo was honored at their alma mater, Parsons the New School for Design, at the university's annual Fashion Benefit. Proenza Schouler was awarded the Best Fashion Film at the Fashion Film Festival Milano for their original video, Legs Are Not Doors, in 2015. In 2016, Proenza Schouler had the honor of being featured in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

's exhibition Manus x Machina: Fashion in an Age of Technology.

Points of sale

In 2012, Proenza Schouler opened its first store, designed by architect

David Adjaye Sir David Frank Adjaye (born 22 September 1966) is a Ghanaian-British architect who has designed many notable buildings around the world, including the National Museum of African American History, National Museum of African American History and ...

, at 822

Madison Avenue Madison Avenue is a north-south avenue in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, New York, that carries northbound one-way traffic. It runs from Madison Square (at 23rd Street) to meet the southbound Harlem River Drive at 142nd Stree ...

in New York. The following year they opened their second store at 121 Greene Street in

Soho SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

. Proenza Schouler is sold in more than 350

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

ers worldwide, including

Bergdorf Goodman Bergdorf Goodman Inc. is an American luxury department store based in New York City, founded in 1899 by Herman Bergdorf. , it operates a women's store and a men's store across the street from each other on Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. ...

Harvey Nichols Harvey Nichols Group Limited ( trading as Harvey Nichols) is a British luxury department store chain founded in 1831 by Benjamin Harvey; it is headquartered at its flagship store in Knightsbridge, London. It sells designer fashion collections ...

, Le Bon Marché, and Lane Crawford.

References

External links

Proenza Schouler website
{{Authority control Clothing brands of the United States Clothing companies established in 2002 2002 establishments in New York City Companies based in New York City Valentino Fashion Group