The hot new kid on the block

Among the many stupendous shops filling the new Central Embassy mall is Proenza Schouler’s first store in Thailand, which carries on the welcoming layout of its boutiques in New York, right down to the triangular monogram on a steel screen.
Designed in collaboration with Adjaye Associates, the 1,400-square-foot shop features minimal lines, coarse-grain Ziricote wood, burnt wood and concrete. The wide-open layout makes browsing easier.
Known for its craftsmanship and attention to detail – and a sense of refined ease – Proenza Schouler was founded in 2002 by designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez. They took their inspiration from contemporary art and youth culture while emphasising tailoring and the newly developed fabrics.
Proenza Schouler has won five awards from the Council of Fashion Designers of America, including Accessory Designer of 2009 and Womenswear Designer of 2007, 2011 and 2013. Its PS1 handbag embodies a sense of wearable luxury that has become the brand’s signature.
Proenza Schouler Thailand will carry a mix of ready-to-wear bags, footwear and accessories. For the spring and summer its focus is on “understated domesticity” – sophisticated, textured looks in a restrained palette.
There are 25 tiny PS1 handbags, custom made for Club 21. The bag, in fleur de lyse pink, is embossed with the Proenza Schouler logo and each carries an edition number.
For the coming autumn and winter, colour, abstraction and spontaneity come to the fore, inspired by ceramist Ron Nagle’s recent retrospective at the Venice Biennale.
With the brand’s penchant for custom fabric development, the collection features brushed and photographic jacquards of industrial materials such as carpet padding and flock-printed viscose crepe with abstract wood-grain prints.
Teal, aquamarine and apricot wool, boucle and tweed jacquards are paired with printed silk knits. Cobalt and crimson printed and textured leather are patch-worked together, juxtaposing different surface qualities, and are worn with quilted leather skirts and deerskin jackets.
Black, white and red jacquards are woven through a unique quilting technique that creates a velvety effect. Silver and gunmetal tops and dresses are embroidered and then overprinted with velvet flocking to create intricate patterns and details.
The autumn accessories complement the vibrancy and energy of the ready-to-wear. Flat shoes in splattered leather and pony were introduced to “ground” the collection, giving a relaxed tone to structured silhouettes.
The Elliot handbag family was introduced this season. Hardware details hark back to classic Proenza Schouler accessories, most notably the PS11 closure, which is flipped vertically. The clutch, shoulder and satchel variations were shown on the runway in ultra-lux fabrications including printed suede, shearling and crocodile.
Custom rings of sterling silver and semi-precious stones are worn throughout the collection. Comprised of three semi-precious stones mounted and wrapped in sterling silver, each ring is entirely unique.