Proenza Schouler Investor Switch Growing NearThe designer brand is said to be close to bringing in a new investor as the current backers look for an exit.

[Collection]Designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are making some new friends for Proenza Schouler. WWD has learned the company is in advanced talks with several potential investors who could inject new money into the struggling business and buy out existing stockholders. The designers did not reply to a request for comment Thursday. Proenza Schouler is owned by the designing duo as well as private equity firm Castanea Partners, which bought a minority stake in 2015, and a group led by financiers John Howard, chief executive officer of Irving Place Capital, and Andrew Rosen, ceo of Theory (who both took personal stakes in the business). The outside investors are all said to be ready to move on and frustrated with how the business has failed to grow and match the brand’s designer buzz. Proenza has long been a favorite of the fashion establishment — winning the inaugural CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award in 2004 and racking up five CFDA Fashion Awards, including being named Womenswear Designer of the Year three times. The hopes of a string of investors — from Howard and Rosen to Castanea and, presumably the next new backer or backers — have centered around taking that industry acclaim and the design talent of Hernandez and

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