Proenza Schouler x J Brand

For the first time, the New York duo Proenza Schouler took on one of the pillars of the American wardrobe: the jean. The two men may have accustomed us to a certain intensity, but their latest creation left us a bit perplexed. Unveiled during their fall/winter 2010-2011 show, the fruit of their collaboration with the label, J Brand, is curiously 80s, despite the fact that the fashion world seems to have definitively finished with that decade.

If we are to believe the list of essentials published by the women's press for the upcoming season, the bleached or tie-dyed slims will no longer be up-to-date. Confronted with the growing support for gathered pants, flared jeans, flannel 3/4s and other carrot pants, the acid-washed skinny jeans à la Taylor Momsen will have no other choice but to beat a retreat.

Given this context, the newest Proenza Schouler addition raises certain questions: how did these virtuosos of up-to-date tailoring, usually so in step with their times (e.g., they sired the perpetually-fashionable PS1) manage to create a denim with an obsolete, psychedelic-skinny DNA?

They do deserve credit for not blindly following the trends; yet their new fixation, despite being stamped Proenza Schouler, is nevertheless not necessarily destined to inspire the critics' enthusiasm. They could claim to represent the work of Jackson Pollock, but as they do not succeed in transcending the flirtation with the artsy, it simply does not work for them.

Against the current of the moment, the latest move by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez in the world of denim arouses a certain disappointment. The fact is, the fashionista this season no longer wants to hear about the 80s. If presented with a piece resembling a bleached slim, her MasterCard has all the chances of remaining safely in her wallet.

This being said, the absolute unconditional fans of the Anna Wintour darlings can perhaps bring themselves to adopt the licorice model, under the condition that they match it with a loose knit and high-heeled lace up boots.

Available on the Proenza Schouler website: http://www.proenzaschouler.com/shop/WF10-626