Source: Tommy Ton for Style.com
I’ve wanted to give an update on my time at Proenza for a long time- three months to be exact. Having the privilege to intern under two of the most talented designers today, Jack McCollogh and Lazaro Hernandez, has handed me a new respect for their work. Watching the label’s progress from across the pond in Melbourne, I couldn’t count the amount of times I hit refresh on Style.com in anticipation for their latest collection.
Their story is well and truly fashion folklore and stepping into the studio on my first day I was taken back by the scale of the operation. The perennial ‘young’ designers have upped the ante each season on the runway whilst slowly building a support team that take their ambitions to new levels. Recently crowned the CDFA’s Womenswear Designer of the Year, I now know how hard Jack and Lazaro, and also Shirley Cook (CEO and partner from the start), work to maintain their position at the top.
Seeing the progression of the Pre Spring 12 and Capsule collections from sketch, to samples, to photo shoot, to market, was particularly exciting (and at times tiring!). I saw the mechanics of Proenza in full motion.
On a day-to-day basis my role changes as I assist the design team with tasks they need to move the collection forward. Seeing the archives and fabric roles made me just a little excited! You just don’t get to appreciate the vibrancy and the intricacies of the collections until they are in your hand.
As of now Spring 12 has begun and the design team is in the initial stages of creating muslins (that’s toile’s for the kids playing back home). To think three months has gone by is a little frightening. Even though the runway is in September, I know it will arrive in a flash. Instead of hitting that refresh button, the collection will be walking right by me!