As New York Fashion Week gets in to full flow, Proenza Schouler are giving us a fascinating insight into the process behind their AW15 collection on Instagram.

Founded in New York in 2002 after designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez met whilst studying at Parson’s School of Design. Their label, Proenza Schouler, is womenswear defined by its fusion of craftsmanship and attention to detail. Perhaps most famous for Proenza Schouler bags, their inspiration drawn from contemporary art and youth culture is combined with an emphasis on tailoring and the use of custom developed fabrics.

 

 

Using Instagram to serialise the story behind their AW15 collection, the idea is to free themselves from the traditional fashion documentary format. Proenza Schouler have partnered with Landon Nordeman to photograph the whole process of conceptualizing, designing and finally delivering a collection through visual storytelling on their Instagram feed. The result is a series that has the feel of a comic or graphic novel, albeit with beautiful photography.

The images and supporting captions will roll out during New York Fashion Week over the next few days, with a focus on a different aspect of the process each day. From inspiration and research to the sketching and fabrication that takes place in various locations in New York. Other fashion voices (Edward Enninful, Derek Blasberg, the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation, and a few others) will also be making appearances to add their points of view to the collection narrative.

Proenza Schouler designer Jack McCollough said “It often feels like fashion documentaries and branded books focus on the same few aspects of the collection: the show, the casting and the fittings. There is so much more that goes into the design process. We thought Instagram would be a great platform to share some of our process with an attention to detail that is often overlooked in more traditional mediums.”

 

 

This creative way the design duo is upping the ante on how designers are engaging with the Instagram community to capture and share their work. It’s fascinating to see those early steps in the creation of a Proenza Schouler collection; the insight into the developmental stages from the initial inspiration, the links with the contemporary art world and the sketching.

Keep up with the new installments that will be appearing each day at https://instagram.com/proenzaschouler/