There was a distinctive sense of New York confidence about Proenza Schouler’s Fall 2019 collection. After a three-season hiatus in Paris, Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCoullough returned to NYFW with a portrait of an urban woman entirely in her element.

The models wore hair slicked-back like that in Wolf of Wall-Street and stepped down the runway in sturdy leather boots. The category was executive realness: androgynous suits, angular deconstruction, crisp lines, and an assertive neutral color palette lifted by hits of marigold that, at its most saturated, was reminiscent of the city’s yellow cabs.

The silhouettes were built on a “subtractive process” of classic codes, most notably seen in the sleeveless denim and leather jackets worn over trench coats. Elsewhere, opposites attracted in forms of fabric and tailoring. Ankle-length knit dresses softened the edge of sharp suiting, pleated skirts gave fluidity to the cut-outs, and the occasional feather or animal print gave a flirty touch to the power-dressing.