Considering the old rumors, getting into Public School isn’t as easy as we may think.
Your inner city address has nothing to do with admission. All of the money in the world can’t get you into the classes you want. Your 4.0 GPA can’t even skip you to the top of the waiting list. To get in, you have to be a part of the in-crowd. You need to be the coolest of the cool.
Bringing New York street style to the forefront, the designers, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osbourne continue the development of a fashion movement.
With Chow from Queens and Osbourne from Brooklyn, they both separately attended public schools. Having a huge impact on their lives, public schools allowed them to experience varieties of fashion and style under the same roof. Differentiating school cliques by the clothes on their backs became the inspiration for both designers, prior to them meeting one another.
After meeting one another through working at Sean John, P Diddy’s street fashion line, Chow and Osbourne became a killer team.
The two create a private label for a Miami beach shop, owned by Chow. Due to the failure of this private label, Chow and Osbourne performed a relaunch in 2012. As a result, the New York brand, Public School was born. With their breakout year in 2013, the two fell onto the fashion radar due to the brands’ sportswear with street inclinations. The co-designers won the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear in 2013. In addition, they won CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year award and Vogue Fashion Fund’s top honor, winning them $300,000. With the funds, Public school created three new positions with salaries to further the brand.
The duo has gone back to the drawing board various times to perfect this evolving brand.
Pushing past the limitations of street fashion, co-designers are inspired by high fashion. With a heart beat from the streets of New York, the two are able to elevate the aesthetic of street fashion, without losing the feeling. Public School keeps their vision clear and fresh for the customer, without boring us to death. Most collections are created at the beat of what the co-designers are feeling. We’ve seen inspiration from public events, politics and world topics that have spilled into the designs to create a statement. Chow and Osbourne are not just money hungry designers. They strive to create fashion that makes an impact.
You should definitely be checking for this small brand, and here are some reasons why.
1. Public School keeps serving a strong design aesthetic.
The brand and its message create a conversation that wasn’t spoken about prior to its release. With co-designers from the streets of New York, their brand never steers from that base. The aesthetic remains within the elevation of street fashion. Although the designing trend is now to pull remnants from the streets and to slap it on the runway- Public School started it. The aesthetic is often copied, but never can be duplicated.
2. Public School designs are manufactured domestically and made in New York City.
Nothing beats rocking clothing that is created within our own country. It’s amazing to be able to support the creation and upkeep of jobs within the United States– even more so when it relates to fashion. Our contributions and where we spend our money on clothing MATTERS. Why not focus on spending it on something that feeds the mouths within our country?
3. Chow and Osbourne remain multifaceted within the fashion industry.
The designers perform constant collaborations to challenge themselves within the fashion industry. The duo collaborates with J. Crew in 2014 to create a full womenswear collection after remaining a menswear line since launch. The two collaborate with Nike in 2014 on an exclusive edition of Air Jordan 1’s where only 50 are produced and sold. They also collaborate with luxury luggage brand, Tumi on a six-piece collection. Finally, co-designers were chosen as co-creative directors for DKNY in 2015. The duo molded and influenced both menswear and womenswear until late 2016.
4. Public School represents small fashion businesses.
As a 4 million dollar business today, Public School started off as a small dream and vision for two dope individuals. Through constant trial and error within the business, Public School was able to properly execute after winning the Vogue Fashion Fund of $300,000. After appointing their first president, Anthony Landereau, the company finally makes strategic planning towards creating a business structure in 2016. Therefore, the company continues to move towards a successful place within the business world. The evolution of the brand was fixated on the art and now has the ample opportunity to grow its revenue with the proper assistance.
5. Public School designers ARE the customers they aim to reach.
Often times, we see designers who do not embody the actual target audience that they aim for. We see this when there is a direct disconnect between the product and the designers. Not with Public School. Both Chow and Osbourne are walking brand ambassadors for Public School. Through their own personal styles, co-designers reflect the product that they place on the runway at all times. Making their brand more believable and wearable, the faces of the brand mirror what is being produced. There is no better way to connect to the customer than to embody who and what they are. It doesn’t get any better.
Written by Sydney Murdock
