Master of materials: Proenza Schouler and the spirit of invention

Proenza Schouler's recent outing for A/W 2013 ranked among the most outstanding efforts at New York Fashion Week
(Image credit: Proenza Schouler)
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At the ripe age of 32, Proenza Schouler designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough may not still hold the trophy of New York's youngest designers, but they're definitely its most sizzling. Since starting their business 10 years ago, they've cornered the market on cool, complex fabric development that may be logistically torturous, but also ensures that no one else's runway looks anything like theirs.  

They have gone to corners of the earth - underwater in Bora Bora, in the backseat of a car in Texas, and a recent road trip through New Zealand - all in the name of refreshing their eyeballs and jumpstarting an original collection inspiration.

Back home in New York, they've channelled their ideas into a signature coterie of custom-brewed materials, pushing their fabric and embroidery suppliers into new territories.

Here we've handpicked some of the most mind-bending and headache-inducing fabric techniques from Proenza Schouler's past collections.

From their first runway collection that featured home-made rubber sequins, embroidery has been a Proenza hallmark

From their first runway collection that featured home-made rubber sequins, embroidery has been a Proenza hallmark. Having graduated to the big leagues, the designers now whip up more intricate fare, like these two regal peacocks coming to life as thread embroidery on a quilted silk satin dress from A/W 2012. The skirt-half, meanwhile, is like a walking bathroom floor with its gold metallic tiles, hand-woven with black and teal leather ribbon

(Image credit: Proenza Schouler)

The weaving of unlikely and un-malleable materials is a favourite studio past time

The weaving of unlikely and un-malleable materials is a favourite studio past time. For A/W 2012, the designers patched together a grid-front jacket from woven leather stripes and quilted leather arms. The top, featuring a laquered, heavy lace embroidery, is paired with a woven leather skirt inspired by karate-chopping Kendo uniforms

(Image credit: Proenza Schouler)

The Gerhard Richter-inspired jacquards for their latest S/S 2013 collection yielded impressive layers of high-tech texture

The Gerhard Richter-inspired jacquards for their latest S/S 2013 collection yielded impressive layers of high-tech texture. Artwork scanned onto computers was woven on a jacquard loom using both boucle and silk yarns. The jacket features goatskin pockets, and a leather grid of teal and black strips, while the skirt is leather-bonded to double-faced duchesse satin that has been perforated and then photo-printed on top

(Image credit: Proenza Schouler)

From afar, this dress from S/S 2012 looks like it might be a frolicking print and The workmanship hit its zenith with the designers' S/S 2013 collection

Left: From afar, this dress from S/S 2012 looks like it might be a frolicking print. Only up close does one realise the entire pattern is constructed with intricate clusters of floral bead, crystal and threadwork embroidery on tulle
Right: The workmanship hit its zenith with the designers' S/S 2013 collection, where a photo of a public pool was printed onto a double face silk satin patchwork and then, for a double dose, was also printed onto half the strands in an asymmetrical woven leather skirt. 'Those were banal photographs we just found off of the internet,' explains Hernandez. 'They had nothing to do with anything. We wanted something urban, and nature and a mix of both. So we found an urban pool'

(Image credit: Proenza Schouler)
JJ Martin

JJ Martin

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