Barely a week past Jonathan Anderson's resignation, LVMH swiftly announced his LOEWE successors. As part of major, ongoing industry re-shufflings, American designers Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez are next to helm the Spanish luxury house. How will they measure up?

First rumors about McCollough and Hernandez joining LOEWE emerged in January, and were amplified by the two vacating their roles at Proenza Schouler, the CFDA-award-winning womenswear brand they co-founded in 2002 and have led ever since.

Known for sharply tailored designs, Proenza Schouler began as their college thesis project, only to later become a fixture of New York Fashion Week for years to come. At one point co-owned by the Valentino Group, McCollough and Hernandez eventually reclaimed all stakes in their company, though what's next is uncertain in light of the LOEWE appointment.

Operative technicalities aside, everyone's wondering whether the Proenza boys can meet the bar set by Anderson. Because in little over a decade, the Irish designer gradually turned an obscure leather goods manufacturer into a $1.5 Billion fashion business. Those are some huge shoes to fill (and pretty quirky ones at that), which'll require whoever attempts it to balance the artistic, artisanal, and commercial weights of this responsibility just right.

A key factor here is that LOEWE, just like many of its competitors, is an accessories brand first and foremost. The now-iconic Puzzle Bag was not only one of Anderson's first offerings for LOEWE, but no doubt one of his most enduring, guaranteed to long outlast its creator's ending tenure.

Curiously enough, Proenza Schouler's first hit was a similarly formatted purse that, too, struck culture like a lightning bolt. With their PS1, the couple-gone-colleagues conceived of a mid-size satchel you'd be damned not to mention in a list of era-defining It pieces of the late aughts and early 2010s.

Omen or not, does one past hit future hitmakers make? In terms of what meets the eye, McCollough and Hernandez share more qualities with Anderson than comment section cynics give them credit for. For instance, both parties lean heavily on other disciplines for inspiration, with frequent nods to painters, sculptors, and architecture evident throughout their respective collections.

What they lack in Anderson's sense of whimsy, the duo makes up for in its love of the ultra-modern. Masters of asymmetrical drapery, innovative silhouettes, and color blocking, the pair can be trusted to infuse LOEWE's surrealist styles and near-centuries-old heritage with a more forward-facing, minimalist edge. “Their eclectic creativity and dedication to craft," said Sidney Toledano of LVMH, "make them a natural choice to build the next chapter for LOEWE."

Beyond aesthetics, all three of them have proven careful observers of the zeitgeist, with strategically formidable maneuvers to show for it. Anderson's costume design duties and On collaborations gained LOEWE an audience outside of insiders, whereas Proenza Schouler's recent link-ups with Vans and Sorel, as well as fragrance licensing and their diffusion 'White Label' line, have granted them access to a more price-conscious crowd.

It wouldn't be accurate to present Proenza Schouler's current relevance or influence as equal to LOEWE's. Nor would it be just, however, to even draw such an apples-to-oranges comparison, despite an impulsive, internet-y sentiment's urge to do so. Regardless of the struggles McCollough and Hernandez have faced independently, this conglomerate-backed baton-pass is sure to equip two remarkably resilient talents with the monetary resources to ease post-Anderson apprehension.

If LVMH's idea is to merely reiterate and occasionally build upon the existing, well-working fleet of LOEWE handbags, but therefore heighten ready-to-wear's actual wearability, the New Yorkers are indeed a good fit. And if this finally unshackles the latter from the self-imposed burden of trying to be America's answer to Phoebe Philo, they'll make an even better one.

Either way though, if recent history's taught us anything at all, it's that the real question these days is not about someone's general, financial, technical ability to pursue a mission. It's about how much time they're given to complete it.

Jonathan got to slow-cook his LOEWE. Will Jack and Lazaro have to flash fry theirs?