Proenza Schouler

   Lazaro Hernandez (born in Miami of Spanish/Cuban parents in 1978) and Jack McCollough (born in Tokyo in 1978 and raised in New Jersey) met at the Parsons School of Design in 1999. After internships at Michael Kors (Hernandez) and Marc Jacobs (McCollough), the pair were discovered at their senior school show when the then-president of the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), Peter Arnold, introduced them to Barneys New York. They had their first professional runway show in 2003, with backing from German venture capitalists, and received rave reviews. Their clothes are inspired by designers of the past such as Coco Chanel, Cristobal Balenciaga, and Christian Dior and are refined and well constructed. In 2003, they won the CFDA Perry Ellis Award for new talent and launched a shoe line under license with Iris, an Italian manufacturer. In 2004, they won top honors from the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund and, in 2005, they launched a limited watch collection for Movado.