EVER WONDER?........JACK MCCOLLOUGH

Vitals
Birth Name
John H. McCollough
Year of Birth
1978
Place of Birth
Tokyo, Japan
Undergrad
Parsons
Neighborhood
West Village
Website
www.proenzaschouler.com






Who
With Lazaro Hernandez, McCollough is the co-founder of the white-hot womenswear label Proenza Schouler.

Backstory
McCollough was raised in New Jersey and originally enrolled at the San Francisco Art Institute to study glass-blowing. He later transferred to Parsons and took an internship at Marc Jacobs. But his career only took off when he teamed up Lazaro Hernandez on their senior thesis: Their collection so impressed Barneys fashion director Julie Gilhart that she immediately snapped it up, even though her buying season was over; with their business partner, Shirley Cook, they soon landed financing from a German investor named Markus Höfels. McCollough and Hernandez put on their first show during the fall of 2003 and walked away with the CFDA/Perry Ellis award for new talent the same year, beating out Zac Posen and Behnaz Sarafpour. They've since become two of the most beloved rising stars on the fashion scene.

Of note
Although they've been fashion darlings for a few years now and have a long list of socialite and celeb fans—Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michelle Williams, Tory Burch, Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, Demi Moore, Kyra Sedgwick—Hernandez and McCollough didn't really become household names until 2007 when they moved beyond dressing starlets and introduced a lower-priced collection at Target. The line was a huge hit (so successful, in fact, it was exported to Paris, the first time that's happened with a line from Tarzhay). But bigger things are in the works. Hernandez and McCollough have found a mentor/advisor in former Burberry chief Rose Marie Bravo, one of the most respected execs in fashion, and recently announced plans to launch a shoe line. After buying out their German investor, they negotiated a deal in September 2007 to sell a 45 percent stake in the label to Valentino for $3.7 million. The relatively low valuation led to speculation that the duo would take over for Valentino after his planned retirement. Alas, the legendary designer was overruled by Permira, the London-based private equity firm that controls Valentino, and Alessandra Facchinetti was picked instead.

For the record
It's pronounced Pro-EN-za SKOO-ler. The name was created using their mothers' maiden names.

Personal
McCollough and Hernandez were romantically involved until late 2005. It was then, as the story goes, that McCollough began an affair with the insufferable scenester (and former Vogue assistant) Derek Blasberg, which prompted Hernandez to hook up with Blasberg's model boyfriend. Thankfully, their professional relationship has weathered the shenanigans. McCollough lives on Jane Street, in an apartment he purchased for $1.25 million in 2004.


source:  city file





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