Rachel Scott’s New Creative Director Role Is a Big Deal

Rachel Scott, the designer behind the buzzy New York label Diotima, has officially been tapped as the new creative director at Proenza Schouler.

The announcement comes months after co-founders Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez revealed they were stepping away to design for Loewe.

“It is with great excitement that I join Proenza Schouler, a brand at the heart of American fashion, and one I have long admired,” Scott said in a press statement. “I hold deep respect for the beauty and world Jack and Lazaro so brilliantly crafted, and I look forward to bringing my perspective in dialogue with their legacy.”

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The next creative director of Proenza will be Rachel Scott of Diotima! #fashiontiktok #proenzaschouler #diotima #blacktiktok #emergingdesigner
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We know the Vogue news is big, but this move matters. The long-running game of musical chairs at fashion houses has mostly been won by white men, even when the clothes in question are for women.

Black women designers, while often running their own labels, rarely get the keys to a major fashion house. As fashion content creator Jarrod Jenkins put it on TikTok, “For the most part, it’s been white guy out, white guy in."

And now we have a Jamaican born woman occupying a creative director role for one of the most prestigious houses in all of fashion," he said.

Rumors of Scott joining the brand in this big way began circulating earlier this year, after she hopped on as a consultant for the storied brand. In an interview with Vogue, she contrasted her Diotima vision with what’s to come.

“I think the Diotima woman is very sensual… very undone and much more rebellious," she said. "The Proenza woman is very polished, but with ease and approachability. It feels like different sides of me, different days, in a way.”

She also highlighted the difference of being a woman leading a brand founded by men.

“I think [men can] have a real love for women, but they’re not women themselves,” she said. “I can really get into how I need to feel when I need to feel powerful, or where I need to feel sharp. I have more access to the sensuality of women, because I hold that in my existence.”

With two decades years in design, Scott really began hitting her stride to the masses a couple of years ago, winning CFDA’s Emerging Designer of the Year in 2023 and Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2024, plus the inaugural Empowered Vision Award.

She’ll continue running Diotima while leading Proenza Schouler, with her first solo collection for the house set for February 2026.

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