PARIS — Last night there was a mini American invasion in Paris with the launch of Marc Jacobs’ makeup line and the opening night of Proenza Schouler’s takeover of Paris’ most la-di-da department store, Le Bon Marché.
Looking rested and upbeat, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez took guests, including Liya Kebede, Arizona Muse, and LVMH’s Delphine Arnault, on a tour of their exhibition and pop-up store on the ground floor of the grand magasin.
Later in the evening, they jumped onstage with Ariel Pink, who performed in what appeared to be a custom piece from the spring/summer 2014 collection. He rocked out in the middle of the beauty department, which had a surreal effect — seeing the singer surrounded by the countertops of iconic French beauty brands, bathed in hazy, pink stage light.
The exhibition itself, which runs until March 22, features archival pieces from the duo’s 12-year career and offers a devastating reminder of all the styles we failed to add to our wardrobes over the years. The majority of the looks are from recent collections, but the trip down memory lane also features such highlights as the under-the-sea-inspired spring/summer 2010 collection, a glorious gold-feathered and embroidered dress from spring/summer 2008, as well as much earlier pieces, including a white-painted leather jacket from fall/winter 2003.
“All of it is specific to a period in our lives — high moments, crazy moments,” said Hernandez of their selection process.
“Often our last collection is our favorite; that’s what we’re most wrapped up in,” added McCollough. “But by the time we show the next season, the last season becomes our most hated collection.”
All in all, there are more than 70 pieces on display — even McCollough and Hernandez admit they were surprised by the volume. “I feel like we just started, and I like to think that we’re kind of young, but then looking back and realizing we have 12 years of archives kind of made me feel old!” McCollough said with a laugh.
The takeover also features a gallery of campaign images (shot by David Sims) and a 3-D video installation, projected onto a cube in a mirror-walled room. The footage, which utilizes 3-D mapping, is a “data-mosh” of imagery from their shows, fabric prints, and video footage they have produced.
To celebrate the retail partnership, a capsule collection featuring T-shirts and tote bags in notable Proenza prints — as well as the cult PS1 and PS11 bags in new colors — will be available to purchase exclusively there and at the Proenza Schouler stores in the U.S. (and online). Even more exclusive, though, are the 12 previously unseen looks from the spring/summer 2014 collection. These one-off samples, which were edited out of the show, are available only at Le Bon Marché. “These are actual samples, the missing chapter [from the collection],” McCollough said.