Rachel Scott

The first debut – out of more than a dozen still ahead – is now behind us. Well, sort of. Rachel Scott, founder of Diotima, just stepped into Proenza Schouler, presenting her first dialogue with the brand’s design team. I have to admit, I was pleasantly surprised by what I saw. Although Scott’s contribution to this collection must have been rather brief, she managed to inject more vitality into Proenza than Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough did in the past decade. The founders and former creative directors of the once-quintessentially-New-York-cool label struggled for years to revive their brainchild. Instead, they leaned too heavily on the aesthetics of The Row and Bottega Veneta, while borrowing too many cues from Helmut Lang and Phoebe Philo. The result: Proenza Schouler devolved into a generically minimal brand, catering to women who would just as soon shop with the Olsens.

Scott, however, brought a breath of fresh air in the very first moments of the spring–summer 2026 presentation. What struck me most were the leather laser-cut pieces – especially a t-shirt styled with ochre briefs and mint-green, over-the-knee boots crafted from a sheer, organza-like material. The floral prints exploded like vibrant fireworks, while a bright orange turtleneck sweater radiated cool.

In some ways, you could still catch glimpses of the old Proenza Schouler – colorful, bold, and rooted in an experimental play with layers and textures. I only wish the collection felt more fully resolved; but then again, this wasn’t a true debut, more of a first taste of what’s still to come.

One thing is certain: Scott needs to define exactly who the Proenza Schouler woman is.

ED’s SELECTION:

Proenza Schouler Ramona Belted Suede Coat

Proenza Schouler Track Paneled Suede Sneakers

Proenza Schouler Yves Asymmetric Fringed Knitted Top

Proenza Schouler Yves Asymmetric Fringed Striped Knitted Maxi Skirt

Collage by Edward Kanarecki.
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Barely a year old, Rachel Scott’s brand, Diotima, is both a rich collaboration with and an homage to her home country, Jamaica. At her hands, crochet – crafted by a group of female artisans in Jamaica – is reimagined to unique effect and paired with coolly slouched tailoring. One thing that’s impressive about Scott is how she manages to make an oversized grandpa suit fit in with a barely-there crochet dress akin to a fishing net. She blends sexy and prim to interesting effect. This season, her new crochet dress is basically a tank top with really elongated straps, a waistband, and hand-applied crystals. The model wears it with nothing underneath, but a slip skirt would fit in just fine. The best suit is made from a laminated woven textile with a crochet appliqué on the leg; you get both a clash of textures and a flash of upper thigh. Scott has collaborated with Nadia Huggins, an artist from St. Vincent who takes arresting underwater photographs. They created a “Tropiques” print featuring a sea urchin, sand dollar, and snake on a soft woven fabric. “She thinks of her whole project as creating a new Caribbean archive and one that has a new subjectivity,” Scott says. In a typically cheeky move, one of the dresses totally covers the model from neck to wrist to ankle, save for a crochet panel across the bust and a super-high leg slit, but she also offers the print in more demure button-downs and a shin-length skirt. The sea motif continues in the use of moire and a sea urchin corset. Scott describes a pair of pants modeled after cricket uniforms, with shell-like pads on the knees, as a continuation of the Caribbean influences.