Proenza Schouler offers live music and deconstructed knitwear

Proenza Schouler's newest collection was inspired by Meret Oppenheim's Surrealist aesthetic.

Proenza Schouler offers live music and deconstructed knitwear

It featured a series of flowing silhouettes and flowing designs that were displayed at a Manhattan art center on Friday afternoon.

Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez opened New York Fashion Week with live runway shows, but some of the top designers are still out due to the ongoing pandemic. They offered live string music to their guests, to a composition composed by Eartheater from Queens. As they displayed exaggerated forms that were often focused on the waistline, with voluminous garments that hugged the body at the center, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough provided live string music.

Designers stated that the theme was experimentation, play, which is more important than ever as people deal with a pandemic that has altered the way they live.

They wrote, "Entering into a new moment of time, completely transformed" in their production notes. "The question of where we all are stepping into -- what will it look like and what will make it special... How can we find beauty amid the chaos?"

The runway show was staged at Manhattan's Brant Foundation. It featured sculpted knitwear that combined bold colors such as yellow, purple and bright red with black and white ensembles. The theme of deconstructed garments was typical of the work of the designers. The designers explained that construction is eliminated and the yarn does all the shaping.

Peplums were a focal point of the show. These are strips of fabric that attach to the waist of dresses, skirts, or tops in various forms. They can be short or long, ruffled or longer on a voluminous or layered over an oversized trench.

The duo frequently chooses themes that are tension between extremes. This Fall/Winter 2022 collection was no different. They focused on control and release, which they called "compressing, but also exaggerating form".

Oppenheim was also a popular choice for inspiration. The Museum of Modern Art will host a retrospective on Oppenheim's work later in the year. Oppenheim is most well-known for her Surrealist sculpture "Luncheon in Fur", a fur-lined teacup and saucer.

Tom Ford was one of the top fashion designers to attend Fashion Week, but he said that he couldn't close out the week due to COVID-related staffing problems. He is expected to present a virtual collection this year.