PROENZA SCHOULER
Press Release
“We are thrilled to have been asked to present a collection in Florence by Pitti. It will be the first time we present a collection outside of the US and the first time we show a pre-collection. In this spirit of newness, we thought we’d try a new way of showing the collection; a way that brings together many different elements that are intrinsic to Proenza Schouler and at the same time exporting a slice of Americana overseas”
Jack Mc Collough, Lazaro Hernandez
PROENZA SCHOULER will be the special guest at the fourth edition of the Pitti W Woman Precollection event, taking place in Florence on 16-19 June 2009. The event is held concurrently with the Pitti Immagine Uomo 76 fair.
Launched in New York in 2002 by the designer duo Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, Proenza Schouler will take the stage in a special event in Florence on Thursday 18 June, at the unique location of Villa La Petraia, to celebrate the opening of the spring/summer 2010 season. This will also mark the very first time that Proenza Schouler will show their collection in Europe.
The designers are among the biggest names in the international fashion scene, and the Proenza Schouler brand, named after the designers’ mothers’ maiden names, has quickly become a key player in New York Fashion Week. Known for creating a style that explores contrasts in poetry and pragmatism, their collections blend a variety of disparate influences from 1960’s American art to post-minimalism, Richard Avedon and Irving Penn to Dan Flavin and Donald Judd, always reinterpreted in their striking, contemporary vision.
Proenza Schouler has partnered with Art Production Fund on the project which will present the designers' upcoming Pre-Spring 2010 collection with site specific projects by artists Kalup Linzy, Haim Steinbach, and The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black. The unique collaboration between these artists and designers undoubtedly exemplify the spirit of creative experimentation that has become the Proenza Schouler signature.
The collection will be seamlessly integrated within the performances, sculptural installations and video while maintaining the highest level of artistic integrity. This unprecedented presentation at the acclaimed trade fair, one of the most important events for the city of Florence, proves yet again Pitti Immagine is the platform of choice for the best fashion brands with worldwide launches and other events by the biggest names in fashion today.
ABOUT PROENZA SCHOULER:
"Jack and Lazaro have established a signature...they have an incredible talent and a real sense of how their generation wants to dress, they have a great sense of proportion; they're in tune with what's happening in fashion globally." (Sally Singer, Vogue USA, Summer 2008 issue of 10 Magazine)
"Proenza Schouler has, from the start, represented sharp-edged contrasts: an uptown sensibility but with a raw energy and dense decoration contained in a taut silhouette". (Suzy Menkes, International Herald Tribune, September 9, 2007)
“Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, of Proenza Schouler, represent the next generation of American talent.” (Cathy Horyn, New York Times, September 9, 2008)
ABOUT ART PRODUCTION FUND:
Art Production Fund (APF) is a non-profit organization dedicated to producing ambitious public art projects, reaching new audiences and expanding awareness through contemporary art. Projects include: SHOW, Vanessa Beecroft, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 1998; PLAN B, Rudolf Stingel summer 2004, Grand Central's Vanderbilt Hall and The Walker Art Center; Prada Marfa, Elmgreen & Dragset, Valentine, TX, 2005, permanent; Greeting Card, Aaron Young, Park Avenue Armory, 2007; Electric Fountain, Noble & Webster, Rockefeller Plaza, 2008; The Whitney Biennial, Park Avenue Armory, 2008; Members Only, Kalup Linzy, 2008; Scribble, Karl Haendel, 2009. Co-Founders: Yvonne Force Villareal and Doreen Remen; Director: Casey Fremont
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