“As one of the most celebrated global design talents of today, Rachel brings a fresh and female perspective to a brand built on the spirit of the modern American woman,” said Suveyke Snyder. “Her profound understanding of Proenza Schouler’s brand codes, paired with her exceptional ability to marry craft with innovation, made her the natural choice to lead the brand forward.”
Proenza Schouler was founded by Hernandez and McCollough in 2002. Named after the duo’s mothers’ maiden names, the origin story of the label remains an industry fairytale: their first collection, which was their joint thesis at the Parsons School of Design in New York, was bought by Barneys under Julie Gilhart’s leadership. In 2004, Proenza Schouler became the recipient of the inaugural CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund prize. The label is known for dressing some of New York’s most stylish women and launching a key It-bag of the late 2000s, the PS1.
Despite a promising start and early years, Proenza Schouler encountered a series of roadblocks. Fuelled by investment and industry momentum early on, Hernandez and McCollough took their collection to Paris in 2017, a short-lived experiment that did not reap the expected rewards. They returned to New York Fashion Week in September 2018 for Spring/Summer 2019, recouping a controlling stake that November from private investment group Castanea Partners — to whom they had sold a minority stake in 2015 — and independent contributors led by Theory co-founder Andrew Rosen, with the goal of redirecting it after a series of managerial misfires. By the time Hernandez and McCollough exited their label in January this year, Proenza Schouler had regained its industry standing and stability, and had reportedly hired the designer Patrik Ervell to launch a menswear line. (It’s unclear if the project is still in development with Scott’s appointment.)
“When we left Proenza Schouler last January, we knew the story would go on, but not yet who would write the next chapter,” said McCollough and Hernandez. “Rachel is someone whose work we have always admired. Her trajectory over the last few years has been impressive to watch. As founders and board members of the company, we are proud to welcome her to this very special brand and excited to see how she will embrace and evolve the legacy and spirit of what we started.”
Despite how well-regarded her label is in New York, Scott has never staged a runway show for Diotima. Her first show for her own label will take place on 15 September, following the unveiling of the Proenza Schouler SS26 collection in New York earlier in the week, which Scott developed with the design studio after joining the label as a consultant earlier this year. This line-up will serve as an “opening statement and an intimate preview of her perspective”, per the brand. The designer’s official debut collection for Proenza Schouler will be for AW26, which will show in February 2026.
Next week, Scott will kick off a long, long season of fresh starts at houses including Chanel, Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Versace and Balenciaga — that she is the only woman of colour to do so will make this not just a memorable presentation, but a historic first.
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Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are leaving their creative director posts at Proenza Schouler