Proenza Schouler's Fall 2011 ad

Earlier today Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez issued a joint statement to confirm Andrew Rosen and John Howard’s purchase of their brand from Permira- the conglomerate that operates Valentino. This transaction follows 2007′s deal when the Valentino Fashion Group purchased a 45% stake in the boy wonders’ label. “We are thankful to VFG for giving us a start, and allowing us to get where we are today,” McCollough and Hernandez told WWD, “There’s so much we’d like to accomplish and have found the perfect complement in John and Andrew to help us realize our dreams.” Rosen is a fashion biz veteran, most notably co-ceo of megabrand Theory, and he’s previously invested in labels like Gryphon and Rag & Bone. It’s yet to be disclosed how much the men paid for Proenza, but it’s safe to assume that the figure is much higher than the $3.7 Million that VFG negotiated nearly five years ago. In a relatively short amount of time the Parsons grads have designed a wildly successful handbag range (including the PS 1) and have been lauded with multiple awards, including this year’s CFDA for Womenswear Designer of the Year. Given Rosen’s sharp eye for business opportunity, fashion’s darlings will hopefully be persuaded to further expand in emerging markets– giving them that extra room to design more drool-worthy inexplicably chic stuff!