The Wall Street Journal features Dashwood Books - Proenza Schouler collaboration

The Wall Street Journal features Dashwood Books - Proenza Schouler collaboration

Saturday, Apr 08, 2017

By Nick Remsen 

PERHAPS SURPRISINGLY, fashion de- signers are often very bookish sorts. Many spend hours in libraries researching their collections, poring over hefty art and pho- tography tomes. Many also cultivate their own libraries, with walls of books lining studios and homes. And as such, the odds are high that you can trust a book recom- mendation from a designer you love.

That’s the thinking behind Proenza Schouler’s latest display in its Soho store in Manhattan: a small but interesting se- lection of books that are for sale along- side their plissspring dresses and art- fully printed clutch bags. The brand’s designers, Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez, worked with Dashwood Books, the influential downtown New York vendor renowned for photography and art editions, to curate the offerings. 

This isn’t the first time designers have asked Dashwood owner David Strettell if they could stock his books but, he said, Messrs. McCollough and Hernandez’s choices were more eccentric than usual. There are seven volumes total, which range from “Homo Americanus,a retro- spective of work by Los Angeles artist Raymond Pettibon, whose show at the New Museum in downtown Manhattan ends this weekend, to New York photog- rapher Martien Mulder’s portfolio of shots of Le Corbusier’s experimental city in Chandigarh, India. For true fans, the selection, which will change each season, is a window into the designers’ minds. Said Mr. Hernandez, “It’s really just what we’re interested in right now.” 

Photo: F. Martin Ramin/The Wall Street Journal