And now, on to the main event…

Last Paris Fashion Week, as rumors swirled that Loewe wunderkind Jonathan Anderson was headed to Dior, Proenza Schouler founders and designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez landed in Paris. It’s standard procedure for American designers who show in New York to spend time in Paris afterward; most store buyers—especially non-American ones—save the bulk of their budgets for Paris, and designers from around the globe set up showrooms across the city to ensure they aren’t forgotten. But I heard Jack and Laz, as their friends call them, were in town to interview for the Loewe job. Even back in October, folks were convinced that, after months—years?—of speculation, a decision had been made, and that Jonathan Anderson would leave the brand for Dior. The Proenza piece of it was less certain. It was just a little over a decade ago that McCollough and Hernandez, who founded their brand right out of Parsons in 2002 and have since become emblematic of a generation of American designers, were themselves vying for the top job at Dior. In the intervening years, however, McCollough and Hernandez have been through hell and back with Proenza Schouler, enduring a series of investor mismatches while the larger industry was consumed by both consolidation and a profusion of independent brands that rose and largely fell on a diet of cheap money and bad business models. By 2024, at last, the business had stabilized, with about $70 million in annual sales, filling a niche for women who were interested in looking good but disinterested in designer flash and increasingly out-of-reach prices. (Last year, I wrote about their under-$1,000 leather jeans, which felt like a bargain compared to Phoebe Philo’s over-$5,000 version.) At independent boutiques across the U.S., Proenza Schouler had become a number one or number two brand. For years, Proenza was far too reliant on handbags, especially their hit cross-body, the PS1, and the business became vulnerable when the style fell out of favor. Now, they were running a more diversified, less fad-driven business. And yet, while they had survived multiple reckonings and come out mostly stronger for it—I’d say even humbled—the prospect that they would ever be appointed to a big house owned by Kering or LVMH seemed diminished. They’d missed their chance, and were doing something different now. So when I heard they’d gone in to discuss Loewe with Sidney Toledano & Co. at LVMH, I was unconvinced it would amount to anything. In the months since, other plausible names were floated, among them Luke and Lucie Meier, who design Jil Sander, and Francesco Risso of Marni fame. Wouldn’t it be interesting if it was Dario Vitale, the longtime Miu Miu designer director, who is set to exit his post this month? But as the weeks went on, the argument for the Proenza boys grew stronger, especially as Anderson’s appointment at Dior moved from speculative to all but certain pending the press release. This past week, HSBC even put out a note remarking on Dior’s business challenges and suggesting that the appointment of Anderson to the head of womenswear would put it back on the right track. Also, last week, multiple sources told me that Hernandez and McCollough’s contract with LVMH had been signed, that they would not show a Proenza Schouler runway collection at New York Fashion Week in February, and that the appointment could be announced by the end of the month, probably after couture. I reached out to reps for Loewe and Proenza Schouler, and also Hernandez and McCollough directly, for comment, but have yet to receive a response.