Proenza Schouler

The fact that Jack McCollough andLazaro Hernandez took off a whole month to trek through Nepal and Bhutan after their last show might evoke a number of critical reactions from a workaholic, adrenaline-driven (and highly envious) fashion industry. But really, the extended trip was a creative investment—not so much an ethnographic field trip in search of folk costumes, as a chance to unplug from an overstimulated, frantic state of mind. “It was interesting to be somewhere where nobody has iPhones or computers,” said Hernandez, “and where there are often just no people, anyway.” As McCollough puts it, traveling far, far away from their physical place of work in New York is more about  “going inside our heads. The best ideas come that way. We never look at ‘fashion,’ really.” Still, as Hernandez said with a shrug, “It’s pretty difficult to be completely disconnected in this day and age. We were up there in the mountains of Bhutan one day, and my BlackBerry goes off. I’m like, ‘Hi, Mom. You’ll never guess where I am!’ ”  
 
The results of their sojourn? Some of the most resolved and directional clothes we’ll be seeing in New York, to judge from the two looks they put together for Vogue.com this morning. “We like something really slouchy,” said McCollough, as their model put on an oversize jacket—something reminiscent of a biker, with wide pleat-front pants worn low on the hip. “This idea of power and strength.” A second look, an inflated peacoat with a side fastening, was worn over a fantastically reworked big, puffy sweatshirt in contrasting panels, and a short wrapped basket-weave leather skirt. There is nothing dithering or watered down about what they’ve arrived at. Every piece has been created from fabrics made from scratch—often subtly influenced by kimono fabrics or martial-arts Kendo uniforms, with a lot of metallic brocades happening too. But it’s the fashion conviction and leadership that is sure to stand out: Proenza Schouler is going to dare to go there with big shapes in a way that will shift the way girls dress. Can’t wait.