Rachel Scott (designer)

Rachel Scott
Born1984 (age 41–42)
Kingston, Jamaica
Occupations
  • Fashion designer
  • businesswoman
OrganizationCreative Director of Proenza Schouler

Rachel Scott (born 1984) is a Jamaican and American fashion designer who currently serves as Creative Director of both Proenza Schouler and her own brand, Diotima. She was awarded a LVMH Prize in 2022, named Emerging Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2023, and named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Council in 2024.

Biography

She was born in 1984[1] in Kingston, Jamaica, where she spent her youth before leaving for college. Her mother was a flight attendant who also ran a clothing boutique: Scott frequently joined her on flights.[2] As a teenager, she made her own clothes, and has recounted climbing up mango trees and embroidering at the top.[3] She attended Colgate University, which had been wracked by a racism scandal just before she began. During her college, she attended Central Saint Martins for summer classes and studied abroad in Dijon.[2]

After graduation, she attended the Istituto Marangoni in Milan and worked at the Costume Institute in Milan.[4] She then worked at J. Mendel and Rachel Comey, where she rose to become vice president of design,[2] before leaving to launch her own brand, Diotima, named for a priestess in Plato's Symposium.[3]

Her style is known for its crochet[5] and its emphasizing of her Jamaica roots,[6] and has been described as "undone".[7] She has also emphasized self-authorship.[8] She frequently utilizes settings such as the National Gallery of Jamaica as backdrops for her designs.[3]

Her work also includes politics: one of her collections was dedicated "to all displaced people",[9] and when exhibiting the Proenza Schouler Fall 2026 collection, she wore an ICE Out pin.[10][11] Her Fall 2026 Diotima collection collaborated with Wifredo Lam's estate on a collection emphasizing anti-authoritarianism[12] and anti-imperialism.[13] Vanity Fair described her as "fashion's backbone".[14]

Fans of her work include Letitia Wright, Ari Lennox,[3] Bethann Hardison, Thelma Golden,[2] and First Lady of New York City Rama Duwaji.[15] Simone Leigh, Ruth Negga, Greta Lee, and Tessa Thompson have worn her outfits.[2] Her first ever men's outfit was worn by Frazier Family Foundation trustee James Frazier in May 2025.[16]

In early 2025, she was asked to consult for Proenza Schouler. Later that year, she was asked to take the position of Creative Director, which she manages as well as her own brand.[2][17]

Her first runway show for Diotima occurred in September 2025, almost simultaneously to her first runway show for Proenza Schouler.[18][19]

She is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America.[1]

She was awarded a LVMH Prize and named Emerging Designer of the Year by the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2023,[2] and named Womenswear Designer of the Year by the Council in 2024.[20] This all happened before Diotima's first runway show in 2025.[2] She was also a finalist for the Woolmark Prize and a nominee for a Latin American Fashion Award.[21] She was named to the Time Closers in 2025.[22]

Personal life

Scott is lesbian, and married transgender rights activist Chaday Emmanuel Scott in 2024. She lives in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. She has Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease.[2]

References

  1. 1 2 "Rachel Scott". CFDA. 2024-11-20. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Givhan, Robin (2026-03-17). "Diotima's Rachel Scott Is Writing a New Chapter at Proenza Schouler". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Introducing Diotima : The Jamaican Designer Crafting The Future". ELLE. 2023-05-12. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  4. ↑ Jr, Victor Qunnuell Vaughns. "Rachel Scott takes the helm at Proenza Schouler". EBONY. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  5. ↑ "Rachel Scott's Proenza Schouler debut embraces controlled chaos". Vogue Adria. 2026-02-12. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  6. ↑ "Rachel Scott Is the New Creative Director of Proenza Schouler". W Magazine. 2025-09-02. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  7. ↑ Phelps, Nicole (2025-09-02). "Rachel Scott talks Proenza Schouler: "There's a beautiful legacy here. I think it has to move forward"". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  8. ↑ Features, Jack Moss In (2026-02-12). "Rachel Scott knows what the Proenza Schouler woman wants". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  9. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (2025-09-16). "A Fashion Secret No More". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  10. ↑ Colón, Ana (2026-02-11). "At Rachel Scott's Proenza Schouler, a New York Woman "Can Be as Perfect or Imperfect as She Wants"". Marie Claire. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  11. ↑ Anderson, Sophia. Designer calling out ICE on the runway | CNN. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  12. ↑ Features, Ann Binlot In (2026-02-16). "Diotima's Rachel Scott on her runway collaboration with radical artist Wifredo Lam: 'Absolutely this is a political collection'". Wallpaper*. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  13. ↑ Saltzman, Steph. "Rachel Scott Shows an 'Anti-Imperialist' Collection for Diotima Fall 2026". Fashionista.
  14. ↑ Criales-Unzueta, José (2026-02-16). "New York Fashion Week Has Found Its Backbone: Diotima by Rachel Scott". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  15. ↑ "NYC's First Lady Rama Duwaji attends Diotima show by queer Jamaican designer". The Express Tribune.
  16. ↑ "James Frazier Rocks First-Ever Men's Diotima Look for the Met Gala". CFDA. 2025-05-07. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  17. ↑ Criales-Unzueta, José (2025-09-02). "Rachel Scott Is the New Creative Director of Proenza Schouler". Vogue. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  18. ↑ "Jamaican designer to head American fashion brand Proenza Schouler". Jamaica Observer. 2025-09-03. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  19. ↑ Friedman, Vanessa (2026-02-12). "Rewriting the Fashion Rules". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  20. ↑ James-Williams, Mecca (2024-10-28). "Rachel Scott Just Won American Fashion's Biggest Prize". The Cut. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  21. ↑ Mitchell, Skylar. "Proenza Schouler Names Rachel Scott Of Diotima As New Creative Director". Essence. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
  22. ↑ "Designer Rachel Scott Is Redefining Luxury". TIME. 2025-02-06. Retrieved 2026-07-28.
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