Another piece of LVMH’s much-discussed designer reshuffle is falling into place as the French group names new creative direction for Loewe: Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, the founders of American designer label Proenza Schouler, will take the reins of the Spanish leather goods house from April 7, LVMH said in a statement Monday.
The designer duo will succeed Jonathan Anderson, whose exuberant vision of craft and cultural curation helped transform Loewe into a business with estimated annual revenues of more than $1.5 billion, according to industry sources. Anderson is expected to assume the creative leadership of LVMH stablemate Dior, replacing Kim Jones and Maria Grazia Chiuri.
McCollough and Hernandez started Proenza Schouler as design students at Parsons in 2002. The pair quickly became poster children for American fashion in the new millennium, as their line attracted boosters including then-Barneys executive Julie Gilhart and Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour.
Their collections fused bold prints and textures with trendy 2000s silhouettes, forging a dialogue between American sportswear and European couture aesthetics. A hit accessory, the PS1 gear bag, drove the business for years while an increasingly researched, cosmopolitan touch positioned the brand at the heart of New York fashion’s efforts to counter the dominance of Paris and Milan.
The brand became a downtown darling, referencing cultural touchpoints including the artists Helen Frankenthaler and John Currin, filmmaker Harmony Korine and singer Annie Lennox. But the label struggled to replicate the success of its more utilitarian PS1 bag. Subsequent handbag families featured sculptural yet supple shapes, including ruched or winged tote bags and crescent-moon wristlets.
“Their eclectic creativity and dedication to craft make them a natural choice to build the next chapter for Loewe,” LVMH executive Sidney Toledano said in a statement.
LVMH is recasting a number of key creative roles this year — including at Loewe, Givenchy, Fendi and Dior — as it seeks to spark a new cycle of growth after luxury’s post-pandemic euphoria ground to a halt last year. Group sales fell 2 percent last year amid lingering inflation, political uncertainty and ongoing sluggishness in the key Chinese market.
Rivals, too, are seeking creative renewal, with Kering naming Demna artistic director of flagship Gucci, while Chanel prepares for Matthieu Blazy’s debut show.
At Loewe, following up Jonathan Anderson’s eclectic, captivating vision and fast pace of innovation will be a challenge. But McCollough and Hernandez inherit a brand that enjoys higher-than-ever visibility and industry goodwill. Initiatives like the Loewe Craft Prize, exhibitions at Salone del Mobile and relationships with of-the-moment content creators and celebrities will provide the new designers with a powerful platform, amplifying their vision at a far greater scale than they could achieve at an independent brand.
“We are incredibly honoured to join Loewe, a house whose values and mission align closely with our own,” McCollough and Hernandez said in a statement. “We look forward to working alongside its extraordinary teams and artisans, whose talent — under the exceptional creative direction of Jonathan Anderson — has shaped Loewe into the cultural force it is today.
McCollough and Hernandez stepped down as Proenza Schouler’s creative directors in January but remain on the company’s board. New CEO Shira Suveyke Snyder, who joined last October, is leading the search for a new creative director.
