Proenza Schouler - Spring/Summer 2011

Has the Jack McCollough/Lazaro Hernandez muse grown up? In any case, this season, Proenza Schouler's usually funk-embellished looks were tempered by a soft maturity.

After several years of success, it is often difficult to renew oneself (some designers have lost their shirts trying). To succeed in injecting new blood into a creative discourse, without losing the press and buyers along the way, is a challenge that the young designers must overcome with style, or risk seeing their market value drop brutally.

This season, Alexander Wang may not have succeeded in pushing the envelope, but the New York duo Proenza Schouler has brilliantly negotiated this dangerous exercise. Under the pretext of bringing a semblance of maturity, McCollough and Hernandez learned the rules of a certain feminine bourgeois dress code in order to break them, giving birth to a wardrobe honoring their label's contemporary and electric identity.

During the course of their show, we saw little Chanel-esque jackets brighten up when brought into contact with straight cut, textured skirts; a simple pullover/mid-length full skirt ensemble freshen up thanks to pastel tints and light materials; and a serious retro dress let loose by revealing a delicate bra at the deepest point of its plunging neckline.

By the way, we also find noteworthy the new recipe developed by the duo: a bit of fluorescent color added to a strict suit suffices to give a girly touch and a dose of energy to the look.

This being said, the first part of their show they may have played with classical dress codes, but they finished by giving free rein to their sporty impulses, going as far as to close with a surprising and funky-chic interpretation of next summer.

Between t-shirt dresses made with beautiful Japanese dye techniques and boudoir combinations revealing sexy lingerie, the Proenza Schouler girl is standing up for herself, adding a bit of that coolness that is so important to her to the bright transparent lace and ethnic-urban dresses.

By proposing deceptively classic models boosted by a delicately sporty and feminine touch, Proenza Schouler seems to have brilliantly anticipated the fashionista's future desires.

Click here to view the entire collection: http://www.style.com/S2011RTW-PSCHOULER