Loewe’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez On Their First Menswear Collection and the Loewe Craft Prize

It’s been one year since Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez moved to Paris to take on the role of creative director at the craft-focused brand Loewe, and the duo is still adjusting to their new life in the City of Lights. “I'd hardly call us Parisians,” McCollough said. “We've got a lot of work to do with our French.”

Linguistic obstacles aside, the pair has already made a big impression with their first two collections, which Hernandez sums up as “taking those codes of American sportswear—like the T-shirt, the jean, the bomber jacket—and then putting them through the filter of high craft, specifically leathercraft.” They’ve swiftly established principles for their tenure: poppy colors, trompe l’oeil fabric innovations, and sleek silhouettes that marry their American point of view to Loewe's technical capabilities. 

McCollough and Hernandez made their names two decades ago with their line Proenza Schouler, which helped shape the downtown cool-girl uniform of the era: casual yet elevated, arty without being pretentious. They were very much a part of the fabric of New York’s fashion scene, so it was something of a shock when it was announced that they would decamp to Paris for this new adventure. Still, they’ve taken the challenge head-on, adding a jolt of American ease and fun to the brand. 

The pair discuss the Loewe Craft Prize, now in its 10th year. The program, run through Loewe’s non-profit arm, seeks to elevate craftspeople from various disciplines and has been an eye-opening initiative for the pair to take part in.

“It's just so nice to be working at a company that celebrates this kind of thing,” Hernandez said. “I think it's quite rare these days. So it's been very fulfilling.”

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