This, to me is tricky and a bit deceptive. That said, I understand the difference between the illusion created on the runway and the reality of the bottom line and the fact that not everyone out there can or will wear a leather bodysuit or a neon trench coat and not everyone can spend 2k on a cocktail dress. But shows are the only venue in which designers can realize accumulated inspirations, feelings, and ideas and present them to us in 3D as theatre where they get to direct.
And that's where I think the boys at Proenza got it right with their beautifully casual Spring/Summer 2010 outing.
>> See our complete runway coverage and fashion show photos
They had a vision of a collection which I think they executed with sincerity and aplomb.
They stuck to their strengths and improved on them. The clothing was urban, sporty and youthfully exuberant with just the right amount of cool sophistication. They made good use of their (thanks to Valentino!) fresh funding which was evident in the research they did and the resulting vibrant prints and gorgeuos couture like detailing in the clothing. This time around there was a downtown to uptown appeal to their clothes, they felt universally relatable, and that's a hard balance to nail dead on as they did.
For Spring 2010 the duo combined a nostaligic love of surf with the easy cool aesthetic of their downtown girls. They opened the show with shirt tie-waisted looks layered with leather and over-sized blazers and moved on to offer some of the most wearable asymmetrical, tiered and ruffled tank and shirt-dresses around. Unlike some of their peers, their idea of casual wasn't about too-cool t-shirt dressing and derivative minimalism. Rather, they opted for rich tie-dye prints, bold effervescent colors and a fresh array of optical animalier mixed with scuba undertones. And this in a sea of zippers, studs, vertiginous shoulder pads and never ending faux shredded jeans. That's what got me, with all of the excess and the flamboyance of today's 80's renaissance.
It was refreshing to see once again that cool can happen without effort or trickery, that it can be thrown on and you're out the door. It was great to see an invigorated Proenza Schouler inject their great talent and resources into such a new, strong alternative to looking cool. -- Naveed Hussain
Published on September 22, 2009
