> MEET PROENZA SCHOULER'S DESIGNERS.

Byline: >Sandra Barrera

Jack McCollough walked over to the "runway rack" on the second floor of Nordstrom Topanga and removed one of his Proenza Schouler dresses hand-beaded with Swarovski crystals on crinkled silk.

"This is, like, the really high-end, expensive,top-of- the-line stuff with the hand-embroidery all over it," said the 28-year-old fashion designer, who was in town with his Cuban-American design partner, Lazaro Hernandez, for a special in-store appearance and trunk sale at the Canoga Park store.

The mood was a festive one. A DJ spun '80s dark wave and techno pop while dozens of female shoppers sipped bubbly, nibbled on hors d'oeuvres and ogled $12,000 fur-collared kimono-sleeved coats, $850 flannel T-shirt dresses, $995 embroidered bustier tanks, $2,995 silk gazar dresses and even some leftovers from the spring '07 collection.

We learned that Valentino had just acquired a 45 percent stake in the New York-based design label and had a few more questions of our own.

What does a $3.7 million investment from a reputable fashion house like Valentino mean for your business?

McCOLLOUGH: I think it will help grow our name and our brand worldwide. Hopefully we'll start doing ad campaigns soon and free-standing stores. There are just so many different categories we can launch into in this business, so we're looking forward to just growing.

What's up with all the embroidery?

HERNANDEZ: We do a lot of embroidery because most of all what we're really into is texture. ... Our stuff is a little more subtle. So surface and texture become really important.

McCOLLOUGH: And contrast. The idea of contrast has always been really an important idea with our collection, whether it be a matte and shine thing or like a really textural and really matte thing.

What kind of fur is that you use on the coats?

HERNANDEZ: All the fur is actually Mongolian lamb byproduct. These animals are killed anyway for food.

Last year, you did a Target collection. Was that a good experience?

McCOLLOUGH: It was great. It's cool to work with a company that's super, super large like that because we're so small. We have 15 people working at our company, so it was interesting to work at such a corporate level. Also, to be thinking about when you have that big of a customer, there are so many different needs and things you have to be sensitive to in a lot of ways.

HERNANDEZ: Things like we decided to do a spring and summer collection, not a winter collection, because it's really easy to get an inexpensive cotton or silk. If you're doing a fall collection, they don't have cheap wool. So when you think about the price point and where it has to hit, you have to think about all the elements that can justify something looking good without costing a lot. It was just a really cool exercise in a lot of ways.

Would you ever do anything for another affordable collection again?

HERNANDEZ: Um, no. It was a way of getting the name out there and it was a way of getting advertisement on their dime, but now we're moving on.

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Photo:

(color) Designers Jack McCollough, left, and Lazaro Hernandez in a Nordstrom Canoga Park appearance.

MICHAEL OWEN BAKER>STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER