After more than twenty years at the helm of their brand, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are leaving Proenza Schouler. It is a massive loss for the New York fashion scene and the industry at large. Since 2002—when they presented their senior thesis together at Parsons—McCollough and Hernadez have been pushing the envelope of women’s style, proving they understand the modern woman and what she wants to wear better than most. It’s no surprise then, that Proenza Schouler had a stable of It girls following its every step—Chloë Sevigny famously was a longtime muse—and the brand’s front rows often felt like a summit of New York’s chicest.
At Proenza Schouler, McCollough and Hernadez didn’t necessarily design for the red carpet, rarely, if ever creating traditional gowns. Still, their designs often found their way to star-studded events, usually on the more sartorial adventurous celebrities for various photocalls, luncheons, and premieres. The duo even dressed Beyoncé for the Grammys in 2015, finding a way to translate their ethos into a more classically glamorous dress. And, of course, there have been many Met Gala appearances over the years, with McCollough and Hernandez always flanking their well-adorned attendee on the famed steps.
At Proenza Schouler, McCollough and Hernandez found a way to make red carpet dressing work for them. So, in honor of the designers’ departure, and in celebration of their work, let’s take a look at the duo’s best celebrity fashion moments for the brand.
The baroque, Chinese-inspired dress Dakota Fanning wore to the 2012 CFDA Awards truly is a work of art. The fabric alone deserves a moment of appreciation, as does the construction and details on the skirt.
Cate Blanchett had the privilege of being the first celebrity to bring Proenza Schouler’s spring 2013 collection to the red carpet. She wore a multi-colored printed dress with a fitted waist and grommet details to Elle’s Women in Hollywood event in 2012.
While this blue tweed jacquard look was originally featured in Proenza Schouler’s pre-fall 2013 lookbook as a coat, Saoirse Ronan had it reconfigured as a dress to wear to a screening of her film, The Host, in March 2013.
Chloë Sevigny mildly eschewed the punk theme at the 2013 Met Gala and wore a dark blue lace, long-sleeved Proenza Schouler fall 2013 dress with a slash on the bodice and a high slit.
Jennifer Lawrence looked adorable in an ab-bearing crop top and white, asymmetrical A-line skirt from Proenza Schouler’s resort 2014 collection.
Miley Cyrus showed off a patchwork dress featuring snakeskin and perforated leather to the premiere of her film, Paranoia, in August 2013.
Many different versions of this Proenza Schouler spring 2014 dress featuring a faux leather bodice, keyhole cutout, and pleated foil print skirt made it onto the red carpet following its runway debut. For example, Rooney Mara wore it in 2013 to a screening of Her at the New York Film Festival.
While for the most part, it’s Proenza Schouler’s dresses that make it onto the red carpet, Brit Marling showed off McCollough and Hernandez’s tailoring skills in an artistic suit featuring garment-printed cotton-crepe jacket and cropped, wide-leg trousers from the brand’s spring 2014 collection.
Blanchett opted for a more modest look for the Monuments Men premiere in 2014, wearing a grommet-covered, high-neck dress from Proenza’s pre-fall 2014 collection.
McCollough and Hernandez are no strangers to dressing guests for the Met Gala and in 2014, they put Imogen Poots in this adorable yet edgy, printed mini dress from their fall 2014 collection.
That year, the designers really showed off their range, also dressing Dree Hemingway. For the model, however, McCollough and Hernandez opted for a sportier look, putting her in a yellow, long-sleeved dress featuring painted white strip details and a plunging neckline.
Stars loved Proenza Schouler’s graphic mini dresses and they very often made it onto the red carpet. In November 2014, Naomi Campbell wore a halterneck version from the brand’s fall 2014 collection to the ACE Awards in New York.
Yes, McCollough and Hernandez even dressed Beyoncé. The designers put Queen B in a semi-sheer, curve-hugging dress covered in beading and embroidery for the 2015 Grammys.
Model Liya Kebede wore this unique fall 2015 design on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival in 2015. The look featured a copper, sequin-embroidered top and a sheer grommet-covered skirt—two pieces that likely shouldn’t work together, but in this case, looked effortlessly cool.
Never one to follow fashion rules, Blanchett brought out white after Labor Day, attending a screening of her film, Truth, in October 2015 wearing a mesh knit spring 2016 dress.
Sevigny has never been afraid to embrace some of Proenza Schouler’s more artful designs. The actress wore a hot pink, asymmetric ruffled dress with a high slit and side cut out to the premiere of her film, #Horror in November 2015.
Lupita Nyong’o embraced the sci-fi theme of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens premiere and wore a Proenza Schouler spring 2016 dress with a long-sleeved peplum top and sheer mesh pearl-studded skirt lined with fringe.
When McCollough and Hernandez sent this set down the spring 2017 runway, they likely imagined it on someone like Naomie Harris, who looked absolutely gorgeous in the graphic black and white crop top and handkerchief skirt.
