The Scoop on Proenza Schouler: The Making of An American Dream

Photos Courtesy of Proenza Schouler Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez Born: 1978, Miami and Tokyo Best Known As: The co-founders/designers of Proenza Schouler For every fledgling designer there’s always the fantasy of making it one day. You finish school, a department store snatches up your collection, and the next thing you know you’re showing your designs at New York Fashion Week. Vogue’s Anna Wintour will back up your every move, while celebrities and socialites snap up your collection by the season. It may be a bit far-fetched and for some it will remain nothing more than a dream, but for Proenza Schouler’s Lazaro Hernandez (left) and Jack McCollough (right), that dream came true.

Jack & Lorenzo with model Natasha fall 2006 Born in the Cuban neighborhood of Miami in 1978, Lazaro Hernandez was influenced at an early age by the women of his mother’s beauty salon. Trying to start down a more realistic path than design, he originally began a pre-med education with plans to become a doctor, but Hernandez couldn’t quell his dreams of wanting to be in fashion. The same year and halfway across the globe, Jack McCollough was born in Tokyo, Japan. His father was an investment banker with Merrill Lynch and McCollough spent the first years of his life overseas. At five his father picked them up from their home in Tokyo and moved them to New Jersey, where he grew up and enrolled in San Francisco’s Art institute with plans of becoming a glass blower. Eventually McCollough changed his artistic career path to attend Parsons, where he would meet the other half of Proenza Schouler.

Jack & Lazaro with Stylist Samira Nasr in 2003 Hernandez attended Parson’s School for Design in 1999 (with such famous alumni as Marc Jacobs,Tom Ford, Donna Karen, Derek Lam, Isaac Mizrahi, Narcisco Rodriguez, Anna Sui, and Alexander Wang) where he met his future business partner and best friend, Jack McCollough. The two instantly clicked and started forming a bond over their passion for design. “When I first met Jack, he was doing all this crazy Japanese-y thing that was very costume-y.” Hernandez told New York Magazine. “I was very ready-to-wear, and so to me it was really fascinating. He brought this level of imagination to things. He was definitely way fantastic.”

Jack & Lazaro in a fitting for Spring/Summer 2011 In 2000 while on a flight to New York, Hernandez spotted his idol and inspiration, Anna Wintour. Not having the courage to speak with her, he asked the stewardess to pass the Vogue Editor-in-Chief a note expressing his passion for designing fashion and his admiration of her. Wintour said nothing and no words were passed between the two. A few weeks later a representative of Michael Kors called Hernandez offering him an internship stating that Wintour had suggested he work there. He jumped at the opportunity.

Jack & Lazaro in a fitting in spring 2007 While attending Parsons, McCollough was also interning at well-known fashion house, Marc Jacobs, even spending some time with the fashion icon himself. Learning everything possible while working at the prestigious design firms, the two young students would soon come to the conclusion that silhouettes, colors and proportions were key to defining not only a label's personality, but also the longevity of the brand season after season. With their education coming to a close the two asked to be allowed to work on their senior projects together. Their professor was so inspired by the resulting collection that he contacted Julie Gilhart, fashion director for Barneys New York, telling her that she had to see the collaboration. Upon viewing their pieces Barneys bought the student collection in its entirety.

Jack & Lazaro in a fitting in fall 2005 After Hernandez and McCollough graduated Parsons in 2002, the boys were left scrambling to streamline the collection to meet Barneys demands; they had yet to even create a name for their house. The pair settled on Proenza Schouler, a hybrid of their mother’s maiden names, agreeing that Hernandez McCoullough didn’t sound like a high end luxury line. “One of our biggest regrets is the name of our company,” explains McCollough to Interview, “There are so many letters. Even coming up with a font was a mission.” Aside from choosing a name both would be happy with, the two were overwhelmed with the amount of work that needed to be done in such a short amount of time. With no idea how to tackle the business end, they enlisted the help of acquaintance, Shirley Cook, who is now currently the Proenza Schouler CEO. “After we graduated and Barneys bought our senior collection, we had to kind of scramble and get this thing rolling. I think our strengths are our design and, especially back then, in the beginning we had weaknesses. Shirley was a good friend and would come over after work at Helmut [Lang] and help us organize receipts, or Barneys gives you this big book of all these things you have to follow in order to ship, and we were like, ‘What the hell is this?’” Mc Cullough told WWD. Now armed with a name and a little help on the business end, Proenza Schouler was ready for fashion week.

Jack & Lazaro photographed for the CFDA Journal During New York Fashion Week 2003 the two designers debuted Proenza Schouler's introductory line. With distinctive silhouettes, colors and proportions the brand was an immediate success; amid rave reviews both heiresses and fashion editors were deciding then and there that they would take home the entire collection. From fashion week their popularity skyrocketed. In June of the same year the duo won the Swarovski/Perry Ellis Award for Ready-to-Wear and the Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation Award. These would only be the first of many won by the New York based designers.

Proenza Schouler runway shoes In September of 2004 Proenza Schouler's first shoe collection was another stellar hit, and no doubt helped them win the $200,000 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize for Promising Up and Coming Designers. On a meteoric rise the boys could do no wrong. By 2005 Movado had debuted a limited-edition Proenza Schouler watch and by 2006 the label was already nominated for its first CDFA award.

Jack & Lazaro accepting CFDA Womenswear 2013 Award Teaming up with Target’s GO International program in early 2007 made them accessible to everyone, and a common name on every fashionista’s lips. The collection featured bright summer colors and cuts; palm frond prints and color blocking were staples of the line long before it was all the rage. Later that year they won their first CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year award, tying with fashion veteran, Oscar de la Renta.

Proenza Schouler 121 Greene Street Opening Fall 2013 In the middle of a time where it was all about the luxury designer logos and “it” bags, (the market was flooded with Hermès Birkins and Louis Vuitton Speedys) Proenza Schouler wanted to make a bag that went against the grain. “It was at a time when it was very much about an ‘It’ bag, and aesthetically those bags were very much covered in hardware and buckles and logos, and we kind of wanted to do something that was the antithesis of an ‘It’ bag in a way.” McCollough told WWD. By December 2008 the handbag line was launched and the PS1 was born. A simple school inspired bag, this leather satchel was devoid of logo laden fabrics, sparkly hardware and was surprisingly subtle.

Jack & Lazaro after winning the 2013 CFDA award Hernandez and McCollough went on to win the coveted CFDA award two more times, once in 2011 and again in 2013, beating out fashion icons like Alexander Wang and once mentor Marc Jacobs. For the duo, success is not about competing with each other to make their own mark on the Proenza Schouler designs. It’s a blending of aesthetics that give the pieces their appeal, “If I was doing it alone, it wouldn’t look like Proenza Schouler. If Jack was doing it alone, it wouldn’t look like Proenza Schouler. What makes it look like Proenza Schouler is the combination of our two ideas.” Hernandez told WWD.

Anna Wintour wearing Proenza during Paris Fashion Week The two draw inspiration from the world around them, choosing from color palettes of vacations taken together and stepping out of their New York life to get away; but their greatest inspiration is technology and how to utilize it to advance designs. “At the end of the day, the human body has two arms, two legs and a torso. A lot of the shapes that can be worn have already been created.” Hernandez explained to WWD, “It’s not about three sleeves or three pant legs or anything like that. For us, it’s about the surface. That’s what the future of fashion is. It’s technology. How do we use technology to create new fashion?”

Dress from Fall/Winter 2013 in the July Issue of Vogue For the Proenza boys it doesn’t look like their fairytale will end any time soon. With fashion powerhouses pushing them forward and the love-affair of Hollywood celebrities supporting their every move, there’s nothing standing in the way, except maybe each other. Although one of the most stellar teams in design, admittedly it can be a little trying sometimes, even when it’s all for the best. “It’s hard separating work from personal life,” says McColloughin in his New York Magazine interview, “We’ll get into an argument about a button at work and then when we leave it’s like, ‘Don’t talk to me. I’m still mad at you about that button.’”

Jack & Lazaro in the Spring 2013 issue of T Magazine

The Scoop on Lara Stone: The Trials and Tribulations of a Global Supermodel

Photos Courtesy of Shutterstock In a world where girls are easily chewed up and spat out, it takes strength and perseverance to be able to maintain longevity in modeling. Between the luxurious runways and glossy pages of campaign ads, lies the harsher reality of conformity and weight issues. Even for supermodel Lara Stone, the ride was not an easy one. Her meteoric rise to the top left her with body images issues and alcohol dependencies, but now, sober and confident, she admits that those glamorous images are not quite as they seem.

Calvin Klein runway at MBFW. New York, 2010 Born December 20, 1983 in Mierlo, Netherlands to a Dutch mother and English father, model Lara Stone was the eldest of two daughters. First scouted in the Parisian metro while on a vacation with her family in France, Stone thought it was strange considering her looks at the time. “In school I was always the funny-looking, tall, skinny kid that got made fun of because of my weird teeth,” she tellsThe Guardian. “When someone comes up and says you should be a model, it's the last thing you expect to hear." With a fairly normal childhood consisting of a stay-at-home mom and a working dad, she never really considered modeling as a career; she believed that she needed to mimic her traditional family’s ways, “you think that’s what your life is going to be; meet a nice man, get married and have some babies” she told Stylist. But her parents had always instilled in her the idea of growing up to be anything you want to be, and so she began to pursue the notion of modeling.

Calvin Klein runway at MBFW. New York, 2011. Saying it was nothing but a rocket straight to the top would be the farthest thing from the truth. After entering a modeling competition held by Elite, she was signed at the age of 15 (despite her loss), and soon after moved to a flat in Paris with other aspiring models. Finding very little work, and anything that did come along consisting of small catalog gigs, she held on, pushing through despite every sign suggesting she should abandon her dream and go back to the Netherlands. “I didn't want to move back in with my parents so I stuck it out. If I hadn't, I might be working at McDonald's” she told The Guardian. After several years of a largely failed career, she switched to IMG models and immediately began to book shows.

Calvin Klein runway at MBFW. New York, 2011 In 2006 at 22, a veteran age by industry standards, she walked her first big runway show for Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy, before becoming the new face and muse of the company the next year. As the leading model for the campaign in one of the biggest houses in fashion, Stone was getting snatched up by designers left and right, booking runway shows, editorial spreads and international covers. Her whirlwind career sent her to the cover of Vogue and back, making her one of the biggest names in modeling. It was the pressure of the success and body image that started Stone down the path of alcohol and diet pills that lead her to rehab in 2009.

Gotham Independent Film Awards. New York, 2012 At five feet ten with a size 4 waist, Stone is anything but fat, yet in the world of fashion she’s bigger than most of her stick-thin contemporaries, leaving critics calling her plus sized or curvy “but you know they mean fat,” she says in Vogue. Even the magazine’s own Anna Wintour had something to say on Stone’s weight in her January 2010 issue “I hope that Lara's success as a model, even though her image does not fit into the existing norms, will inspire the industry to rethink its current preferences." Trying everything she could to lose the extra weight so she could fit in the sample sizes proved more dangerous than advantageous. “I even tried pills, but they made my heart race,” she said. Turning to alcohol to try to soothe the constant rejection and ostracism from stylists and designers, it slowly took over her life, making her a violent drunk who started fights and would get into physical altercations with those around her. “I used to love slapping people in the face when I was drunk. I thought it was really funny, so I did a lot of that. I'd pick fights with doormen and bouncers and stuff a lot. Ex-boyfriends. But nobody ever punched me back,” she explained to Marc Jacobs in Interview Magazine.

Arriving at the GQ Men of the Year Awards. London 2012 Although no one in the industry reached out to help Lara with her addiction, she was able to come to the realization that she needed help on her own; telling Jacobs “The drinking was getting way out of control. I just didn't recognize myself anymore…So I was like, ‘I can't live like this.’ It was just this really awful feeling of becoming a totally different person and not being able to control it at all. Then I tried to not drink, but that didn't work. So I figured I should just go to rehab.” Entering Stepping Stones rehab in Cape Town, South Africa, she spent a month working on her addiction and body issues trying to regain some semblance of herself. After leaving rehab in 2009 she hasn’t had a drink since, and now sees herself in a whole new light. “People still tell me I'm fat, but when I look in the mirror, that's not what I see.”

Lara Stone and husband David Walliams. London, 2012. In 2009 she met British comedian David Walliams, who swept her off her feet and proposed within 10 months of their first date. Marrying in May of 2010 at London’s Claridge Hotel, they hosted an event worthy of their star status, with designers, comedians, models, actors and actresses all in attendance. With a bridal gown envisioned by her close friend, designer Riccardo Tisci, Stone looked beautiful toasting her marriage with popcorn instead of champagne. In December of 2012 Walliams announced the couple’s pregnancy via Twitter, and Stone gave birth to a healthy baby boy on May 7 of this year. Winning awards like the 2010 British Fashion Award Model of the Year, and gracing the cover of international Vogue magazines over 10 times, have set Stone up as one of the biggest supermodels in fashion—ever. Named one of the world’s highest paid models by Forbes this year, she comes in tenth, behind names like Giselle, Kate and Miranda—and she was out for a time because of her pregnancy and childbirth. For all the stardom and glamour that comes along with being a supermodel, Stone remains the down-to-earth, awkward girl from Mierlo, “In real life, I'm very shy, but people think I'm this angry, sexy kind of… god knows what they think!” she tells Jacobs in Interview Magazine, “And there I am in front of them, nervous and blushing and stuttering and whatnot. So I'm definitely not the person you see in pictures. I mean, in pictures, you look like something you're not.”

Graff Diamonds Recreates Iconic Imagery With $500 Million In Rare Stones.

Photos Courtesy of Graff Diamonds To commemorate the 60th anniversary of world renowned jewelers Graff Diamonds, founder Laurence Graff has recreated their iconic image originally photographed in 1970. The new Hair & Jewel photo features 22 rare diamond pieces that total over $500 million. Working with some of the largest and rarest stones in the world, the company legacy of Graff is manifested through this sparkling reinvention. Founding his namesake company in 1960, Laurence Graff started small, setting up in department stores in Singapore before moving into exhibitions around the world. In 1970, he created the Hair & Jewel coiffure, a $1 million design of diamonds and jewels perched on the head of a model with hair fashioned after 18th century Versailles. The campaign sparked immediate success for the company and by 1973 Graff became the first jeweler to be presented the Queen’s Award to Industry and a year later opened the first flagship store in London and acquired the first of many famous diamonds for the jeweler, the Star of Bombay.

True to this heritage of luxury and acquisition of extraordinary diamonds, the new Hair & Jewelshowcases 22 of some of the finest and rarest diamonds in the world. Included is a pair of earrings featuring the Graff Sweethearts, two matching heart-shaped, flawless 51.53ct and 50.76ct diamonds obtained in 2011. Pieces like the 331.11ct Diamond Butterfly Broach, D Flawless Pear Shaped Earrings, and Pink and White Diamond Flower Broach were all cut from the 550ct Letšeng Star, the 14th largest white rough diamond ever discovered.

“My jewelry is classic. It’s not intricate, it’s not abstract. It’s beautiful, classic jewelry with magnificent gems,” Laurence Graff explains. Made entirely of diamonds, some of the largest rare colored stones are threaded throughout the model’s hair including a internally flawless 10.47ct blue diamond, a 52.73ct vivid yellow emerald cut diamond and a pink 9.07 emerald cut diamond. Even after 40 years since the original image was shot, this recreation still showcases the history of Graff's work with diamonds beautifully.

VOGUE'S Fashion’s Night Out Arrives Tonight

VOGUE'S FASHION'S NIGHT OUT takes place tonight in Manchester. The Vogue team are heading north for the annual fashion extravaganza, which will involve the city's chicest shops and brands - from Selfridges and Harvey Nichols to H&M and Mulberry.

Hugo Boss will host the evening's most glamorous party, an exclusive event to be attended by some of the industry's key designers, while sketch artist Clym Evernden will be creating personalised fashion illustrations in store. Watch one of the many designer interviews taking place across the city, including Roksanda Ilincic and Jonathan Saunders; dance to celebrity DJ sets from The Maccabees, Jameela Jamil and Pixie Geldof; or indulge in a little pampering with an Essie manicure at Mulberry. Consult our guide for the ultimate in what to see and do, then take a look at our map to plan your route. And, in case you were in need of further retail inspiration, we've chosen our shopping highlights. Wondering what to wear? Our Vogue editors have revealed what they'll be teaming their FNO T-shirts with (created this year by Gap), to help inspire your ensembles. 

We'll be bringing you the action live as it happens, from the chicest shoppers and star guests to the most unmissable gossip, so make sure you click back tonight for the latest coverage. But for now, put on your FNO T-shirt and get ready for a true fashion spectacular.

GORGEOUS COSTUMES @ NIGERIA TELEVISION FASHION SHOW (NTFS) SEPTEMBER 2013 EDITION |||RED CARPET|||

Victoria (Pinkies)

Some beautiful faces and gorgeous costumes at Nigeria Television Fashion Show (NTFS) Sept 2013 edition.

Valisimo

Sky

Adaeze, Franca & Angel

Nene Ndukwe

Rachel Faboyede

Lilian Obi

Ezinne Vin-Anounye

Shola Habib

Blackky

Chisom 

Collins Tucker

Dammy

Esther Lawrence Wokama

Ezinne & Collins

Franca

Godson Austa - Augusta

Jenny Chris

Moji Adekoya

Moji Fashola

Nneka Onurah

Pamela Francis

Sky & Nene Ndukwe

Lilian Oparaodu

Zen Magazine’s Jewellery Heaven with Anita Quansah London

Zen Magazine ran an editorial with Jewellery line owner Anita Quansah London.

It’s a jewellery line that has celebrity customers like Alicia Keys, Estelle, Asa, and Nneka. What makes Anita Quansah London special? The pieces, the style or is it their creativity? We think it’s everything!

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