Honestly, I'm intimidated by the idea of reviewing this collection because it is just so perfect. Any composure or finesse that I might normally instill into a review is likely going to be melted into giggly fangirl-ish-ness and my inevitably natural excited-valley-girl dialect will, like, totally make its way through. I missed the live streaming of the show, forgetting before leaving my house that the iPhone doesn't support Flash. While trying to load the mobile page from a restaurant, I received the error: "Flash player not available for your device". No. You mean that I have to wait to see the images for twenty minutes? I lived, but only by my will to indulge in what became my favorite collection of all time. For about the past year, the majority of my time has been spent gathering inspiration and ideas for my house remodel. Googling my favorite mid-century big name architects and stocking up on decorating books from the 50s - 70s took over all of my free time. I fell in love with the kitschy vibe of roadside architecture and the kooky shapes of Googie signage. I'd watch and re-watch The Big Lebowski just to see The Dude pass out in John Lautner's Chemosphere over and over.
When I finally made it home to my MacBook and impatiently navigated through a high-traffic Style.com, I was unexplainably excited to see Proenza Schouler's Spring collection, inspired thickly by Googie architecture, tacky plastic and rubber materials, and a mid-century southern California. One look after another, Jack and Lazaro took the vibe I've been craving for months and nailed it into the shag carpet with a rubber-topped, wooden-soled shoe. They took such a broad, quirky, and two-bit group of references and pulled them together into a sharply tailored, sophisticated silhouette. Accessories aside, there's not a trace of the kooky shaping that makes Googie what it is, but the mood still comes through so strongly. Maybe it's the beautifully beaded, modified hawaiian prints or the glossy, elbow-length gloves or the 50s-countertop color palette. The craftsmanship that makes Jack and Lazaro the coolest duo in New York is excitingly apparent here, by way of knit plastics and eel-skin detailing throughout. In reference to their inspiration for the collection, Lazaro tells Nicole Phelps of Style.com, "It was once cutting-edge, but now it's decrepit. Lost optimism." Looking at what was then futuristic and where it has ended up makes me look at today's innovation in a different light, although I'm somehow confident that the optimism the Proenza boys are injecting into the fashion world won't soon be lost.
Proenza Schouler, Spring 2012
Photos from Style.com