Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, better known as the duo behind New York label Proenza Schouler, are the new creative directors at Loewe, effective April 7.
They succeed Jonathan Anderson, who officially stepped down last week after an acclaimed 11-year tenure that catapulted the Spanish house into fashion’s big leagues.
That development further clears the the way for Anderson to eventually take up a creative role at Dior, as reported. Loewe and Dior are both owned by French luxury group LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
Confirming a widely expected move exclusively to WWD, Loewe said McCollough and Hernandez would carry “the entire creative responsibility of all Loewe collections across womenswear, menswear, leather goods and accessories.”
The American duo seemed poised to take up the role after revealing last January that they were stepping down as creative directors of the brand they founded in 2002.
Why They Were Chosen
In an exclusive interview, Loewe chief executive officer Pascale Lepoivre elaborated on the choice of McCollough and Hernandez for the plum Paris post.
“To name just two factors: They are highly creative and also entrepreneurs, whose curiosity and vision go beyond fashion and extend to diverse cultural fields as well as to the diversity of markets and customers that we talk to,” she told WWD. “They are warm, open and lively, an excellent fit with the company culture of being intense and passionate, while also committed to being playful and not taking ourselves too seriously.”
She added: “Their vision and creativity are a perfect match for the codes of the house that we have built, and I am excited to see them shape its future.”
Emblematic of their commitment to the project, the two men are relocating from New York City to Paris, where Loewe’s creative offices are located, Lepoivre said, noting they are also eager to spend time in Madrid, where Loewe was founded in 1846 as a leather-making collective and supplier to the Spanish royal crown.
“Some of their first days will be spent in Madrid, visiting the atelier, meeting artisans and browsing the archive,” she said.
It was not specified when the duo might unveil their first collections for the brand.
In a joint statement shared first with WWD, McCollough and Hernandez said they are “incredibly honored to join Loewe, a house whose values and mission align closely with our own.”
“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,” they continued. “We extend our sincere gratitude to Bernard Arnault, Delphine Arnault, Sidney Toledano, and to Pascale Lepoivre for entrusting us with this remarkable house’s next chapter.”
“I have long admired Jack and Lazaro’s work at Proenza Schouler; their eclectic creativity and dedication to craft make them a natural choice to build the next chapter for Loewe,” commented Toledano, a veteran of Christian Dior Couture, LVMH Fashion Group and an adviser to Bernard Arnault, chairman and CEO of LVMH. “I look forward to seeing them lead the evolution of the house.”
Stalwarts of the New York fashion scene with an undiminished aura of arty cool, the Proenza Schouler duo have long been on the radar of top European fashion houses.
Valentino Fashion Group took a stake in Proenza Schouler in 2007. Four years later, a group of backers led by John Howard and Andrew Rosen bought most of Valentino’s position.
Then in 2018, Mudrick Capital Management led the designers’ buyback of their company.
Long-running Talks
According to sources, LVMH has held discussions with McCollough and Hernandez over the years about joining one of its marquee fashion houses, which include Dior, Louis Vuitton, Givenchy and Fendi.
Under-the-radar talks about them joining Loewe commenced last October, the same sources said.
The boyish duo burst onto the fashion scene straight out of Parsons, selling their senior thesis collection to Barneys New York, and managing to hang onto the aura of an emerging brand even as they became part of the American fashion firmament. (They used their mothers’ maiden names for their brand instead of their own surnames.)
Proenza Schouler would go on to win five CFDA Awards, including Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2007, 2011 and 2013; launch an enduring “It” bag in the messenger-style PS1 in 2008, and decamp to Paris Fashion Week for a couple of seasons. Over the years the brand has collaborated with the likes of L’Oréal, Birkenstock, Sorel and Mercedes-Benz.
McCollough and Hernandez remain company shareholders at Proenza Schouler and serve on its board.
In addition, the two men are working in tandem with Proenza Schouler CEO Shira Suveyke Snyder to find a new creative lead for the brand, prized for an aesthetic that WWD once described as “anti-minimal modernism.”
Loewe was acquired by LVMH in 1996, enlisting Stuart Vevers, José Enrique Oña Selfa and Narciso Rodriguez as designers over the years.
Anderson was appointed creative director in 2013, in tandem with LVMH taking a 46 percent stake in his London-based signature brand, JW Anderson.
His fashion star has been steadily rising in recent years as his widescreen approach to Loewe — rooted in craft and closely linked to the art and film worlds — has gained traction and propelled the house into a global player.
To be sure, the designer from Northern Ireland set a high bar, transforming a small house known mostly for leather goods, gifts and perfumes into a global player synonymous with daring fashions, quirky collaborations with the likes of Studio Ghibli, and whimsical campaigns. Market sources estimate Loewe’s revenues multiplied by more than seven times over his tenure to approach 2 billion euros.
McCullough and Hernandez enter a house with strong momentum, and brand equity.
“The Loewe business is very healthy, and we keep gaining market share from our competitors,” Lepoivre told WWD. “We have built strong foundations across all product categories and key markets, which we believe will provide a great platform for Jack and Lazaro to build on.”
Among tentpole events for the brand in 2025 are the opening of Loewe’s “Crafted World” exhibition in Tokyo this week; an exhibition of teapots at Salone del Mobile in Milan next month; the Loewe Foundation Craft Prize returning to Madrid for its ninth edition; the extension of the Loewe boutique on Avenue Montaigne into a full Casa concept, and the opening of a Loewe Casa building in Tokyo’s Ginza district.
“The craft prize is very important to Loewe and to the Loewe Foundation, and we hope to see its profile continue to grow and support the global craft community,” Lepoivre said. “As for other art-related projects, we are all excited to see the angle that Jack and Lazaro bring to this.”
Loewe’s “Crafted World” exhibition debuted in Shanghai last year.
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