Today A BLOG presents an exclusive, candid interview between Proenza Schouler‘s covergirl Chloë Sevigny and our friend and collaborator Kristopher Arden Houser. She shares her thoughts on Proenza Schouler’s Fall Winter 2010 collection, their issue of A, and discovering the proud American within.

On A#9:

Kristopher Arden Houser: Had you worked with Richard Burbridge before, and what was it like on set shooting the cover of A’s #9 ?

Chloë Sevigny: I had shot with Richard early in my career for a UK magazine, so it was comfortable, until I realized how many cute photo assistants were on set. They were playing really great music and I realized we were all at Sway  (a club in N.Y. popular for  playing a nearly all Smith’s soundtrack) the  Sunday before.

KH: for A#9′s launch you traveled to Florence, Italy with the Proenza Schouler boys & their team of NY collaborators – what was the most memorable moment from Pitti?

CS: I remember feeling really American, or even proud to be an American. I went with them to Florence with our New York posse like Kembra (Pfahler), Spencer (Product) and Jack / Lazaro and I was proud of them as American, New York, designers.

KH: If you could have recommended one more artist for inclusion / collaboration within their issue, who would you have suggested?

CS: In a way I could see Doug Aitken fitting into the issue nicely. Maybe its his California, music, surfer, artist sensibility. I actually did my first project with him in California, they sent me for a music video that he was shooting, I was in High School, and I thought it so glamourous – I was staying at the Roosevelt Hotel (pre-renovation) and I saw Vanna White in the parking lot.

On the Proenza Schouler Fall Winter 2010 collection:

KH: In one sentence what was the feel of the Proenza Schouler Fall Winter 2010 collection, for you?

CS: This collection felt like a re-interpretation of classics, I like their use of preppy staples like pleats, micro-mini’s and school girl dresses.

KH: You do like those micro-mini’s don’t you {we both laugh in agreement}

KH: What piece are you most excited to wear?

KH: Of the collection, or in general, when wearing leather what is your color preference?

CS:  A hard biker-black…

KH: hence the slick back hair as of late?

CS: Yes (laughing) perhaps

KH: What was the biggest risk Proenza Schouler took in this collection that you admire?

CS: The shoes. They had this Peter Fox feel to them with a Deee-Lite heel. They are (P.S.) a few seasons ahead of everyone else, and of course I think they are one of the best American designers, people will catch-on in a year or so.

Above image: “In bed, Florence”. Chloë Sevigny with Lazaro Hernandez (left) and Jack McCollough (right) of Proenza Schouler, taken during Pitti Immagine, June 2009.

A BLOG presents the online release of A MAGAZINE curated by Proenza Schouler.

A fast-forward step from last month’s online release of A#1, we proudly announce that A#9 is the final step in our very first online project, beginning the ever-expanding archives of the A World.

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Proenza Schouler are Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez, a New York-based design duo who took their mothers’ maiden names to name their label after graduating Parsons School of Design in 2002. Barneys bought their graduate collection in its entirety, beginning their stellar rise to the top of the New York circuit. They have since won the CFDA Perry Ellis Award for new talent in 2003, the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year Award in 2007, and the CFDA Accessory designer of the year award 2009.

Their womenswear designs offer a fresh and feminine vision in elegant, directional styles that range through tailored sportswear to layered cocktail and eveningwear. Exacting a modern, clean aesthetic with technical fabrics and an expert use of muted colours with bold highlights, Proenza Schouler take abstract inspirations from a wide array of modern art references, from the large-scale land art of Donald Judd’s Marfa, Texas to the Pop Art movement. Their muses include the actress and fashion icon Chloë Sevigny, who appears on the cover of the magazine, starry-eyed in a soft and alluring image by Richard Burbridge.

Throughout the month of March and beyond, A BLOG explores Proenza Schouler’s ‘Made in the USA’ issue – a landmark for Jack and Lazaro as the first American designers to make an A. Their research for the magazine took the boys in unexpected and exciting directions, from roadtripping across the United States to discover Donald Judd’s Texas artist collective, to chatting with the legendary Bruce Weber in a candid interview with Derek Blasberg, and offering their archives to an assortment of prestigious photographers and stylists to reinterpret for A#9. This magazine is not only an eye-opener for readers, but for its two curators also.

Please click here to see A#9 online at WWW.AMAGAZINECURATEDBY.COM, the final title in this archive series. A#1 by Maison Martin Margiela, A#2 by Yohji Yamamoto, A#3 by Haider Ackermann, A#4 by Jun Takahashi, A#5 by Martine Sitbon, A#6 by Veronique Branquinho, A#7 by Kris Van Assche and A#8 by Riccardo Tisci are also all available to view online now.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYFRITN6txY[/youtube]

Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez of Proenza Schouler hosted the party of the week in New York city on Monday night,  when they invited their collaborators and friends to toast the US launch of A#9. Their choice of venue was a townhouse in Soho Mews, the new luxury condo development in West Broadway.

The crisp pages of their ‘Made in the USA’ edition were showcased inside the townhouse for guests to see the beautiful work of the designers and their collaborators, including that of performance artist Kalup Linzy (who was also in attendance).

And what would the A#9 NYC party be without it’s cover girl, the divine miss Chloë Sevigny? She dazzled in a Proenza Schouler leather belted jumpsuit, exclaiming “I feel a little bit like a super-slut superhero!”

Other guests included cover photographer Richard Burbridge, Derek Blasberg (who interviewed Bruce Weber for a piece in the issue) and Yvonne Force Villareal of Art Production Fund, the veritable ‘force’ behind much of Proenza Schouler’s brilliant spectacle in June at Pitti Immagine in Florence, Italy.

The party was as low-key an event as such a New York society crowd permits, with beers in icebuckets and a tire swing on the terrace (albeit a designer one by Aaron Young of Cumulus Studios!). ‘Kids’ actor Leo Fitzpatrick and artist Nate Lowman hit the decks to dj for the event, as various art, music and fashion personalities enjoyed the summer evening sipping beers and champagne, including P.S.1‘s  Tim Goossens, model Sigrid Agren, Vogue’s Hamish Bowles and up-and-coming young illustrator Aurel Schmidt.

Surely a last hurrah for Jack and Lazaro after riding a crazy wave in the past few months, culminating in the completion and launch of A#9, their reception of CFDA Accessories of the Year award, and their work with Pitti Immagine as the special guest of the womenswear pre-spring collection presentation. Congratulations guys!

Photos by Steve Eichner, Sherly Rabbani and Josephine Solimene.

The Rue St Honoré window of Parisian superstore Colette is graced with the cover of A#9 this week, as the magazine hits stores worldwide.

In a special collaboration with Pitti Immagine, the largescale reproductions of Richard Burbridge’s Chloë Sevigny cover and the exclusive Proenza Schouler print by Alejandro Cardenas were flown from Florence to feature at Colette.

The prints have been accompanied by a selection of garments from Proenza Schouler’s Fall Winter 2009/10 collection, including their CFDA award-winning accessories.

An issue of A#9 could be seen poking from the pocket of Proenza Schouler’s signature PS1 leather satchel, and an Apple iPod Touch with the magazine in digital format tucked under a Proenza Schouler belt.

Three copies of A#9 have been signed by the designers themselves, Jack McCullough and Lazaro Hernandez, exclusively for Colette. In order to get your hands on a signed copy, check out Colette’s July newsletter here, to find the quiz question and find the answer right here on the A BLOG.

A#9 is now available at Colette and other leading bookshops and retailers while stocks last. Thanks to Pitti Immagine.

A MAGAZINE CURATED BY takes prime position in the prestigious galleries of Pitti Immagine, with an exciting new showcase bringing every past issue to life in digital format.

Nine iPod Touch screens constantly flip through the pages of each curator’s issue – the last screen of Proenza Schouler presenting never-before-seen content from the A#9, the new A MAGAZINE CURATED BY PROENZA SCHOULER.

The walls of the exhibit are adorned with two large format prints from the new issue – one being the cover of the magazine featuring Chloë Sevigny shot by Richard Burbridge and styled by Marie Chaix.

The adjacent wall features a black and yellow floral print canvas by Alejandro Cardenas, designed exclusively for the Proenza Schouler collection.