“That was uplifting!” said an editor leaving the Proenza Schouler show on Wednesday night in Chelsea.

Indeed.

The fall shows have needed a good, solid jolt, and Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez did that with a terrific collection that had a number of influences. Backstage, the designers said they were interested in the idea of protection — not just in the sense of covering up. “It’s also about escaping,” Mr. Hernandez said.

Most obviously woven leather skirts and boxy jackets suggested protection; the weaves, in combinations of red, cobalt and black, were quite dense, almost like an industrial mat. The skirts were short and worn a bit low on the waist, with a side slit. The textures were impressive — you really weren’t sure if the material was leather or vinyl — but the most striking aspect of the collection, I think, was the proportion.

The opening outfits consisted of boxy, asymmetrically closed jackets in a heavy white cotton pique worn over a white poplin mini dress or wide-leg trousers in the same heavy pique. Of course, that suggests protective gear but there was a stronger Japanese influence in the cut of the jackets. There were also some great-looking shirts — essentially, an oversized T-shirt — in lacquered fabrics, with a zipper down one side that was partially opened. These were shown with short skirts. Accessories included block-heel booties that repeated the lattice effect and stiff, knee-high black leather boots. There were also a number of flat clutches covered in what looked like fur.

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