Public School is a brand that has attracted attention with its unique collections that mix fashion, sports, and youth culture such as hip hop. The brand is led by two designers who grew up together in New York, Dao Yi Chou and Maxwell Osborne. This season, they achieved the remarkable feat of winning the top prize at the 2014/15 International Woolmark Prize (IWP) Men's Wear Finals.

A DJ event held at the Public School Pop-up Shop on Sunday, November 1st. Left: Maxwell Osborne, Right: Dao Yi Chou

Public School is a brand that shows signs of a global breakthrough, and Isetan Men's has been featuring their collections for three seasons prior to winning the "IWP" award. In October, they exclusively released a capsule collection for the award, demonstrating the high expectations for this up-and-coming brand from New York. The collection itself was presented under the concept of "a presentation that makes you feel the sound," with an unusual floor setting that included a DJ booth. They are actively promoting themselves as a next-generation brand with the power and appeal to expand the possibilities of fashion. This time, we spoke with the two designers who came to Japan for the capsule collection about the story behind the brand's inception and their thoughts on creation.


━━━ How did you two end up entering the world of fashion?

Osborne: During my student days, I interned at a clothing brand called Sean Joan, and ended up getting a full-time job there. I met Daoyi at that workplace, and since we both grew up in New York, we started talking a lot. We hit it off over a variety of topics, and in 2008, we decided to launch a public school together.

Dao Yi: As for me, I interned at Sony Music when I was a university student, and at that time I was aiming to work in the music industry. However, I hadn't secured a job by the time I graduated, so I ended up working at a select shop in New York's East Village that a friend had started. After a while, I received an offer from Sean Joan, a brand that the shop carried, and that's how I opened the door to becoming a designer. However, I didn't completely give up music, and while working at Sean Joan, I also worked as a writer for a music magazine called 'VIBE'. That's when I met Max.


━━━ What aspects of each other resonated with you, leading you to form a comedy duo?

Osborne: We officially started in 2008, but the idea of a public school had been spurring on between the two of us for about a year before that. We met at work, but we spent more time hanging out together outside of work. We were both from New York and had similar tastes in music and culture, so we had a lot to talk about.

Dao Yi: Yes, we were good friends even before we launched the brand. I'm a little older, but we had very similar experiences and tastes in cool things. I think the driving force behind Public School came from the positive energy we shared with each other.


━━━ It's already been seven years since the public school started in 2008. What has changed and what has remained the same in terms of your approach to branding since the beginning?

Osborne: In some ways, things may have changed quite a bit. At first, I was often too obsessed with the creation process. For example, I would spend a lot of time on the silhouette of just two types of jackets. This kind of bias accumulated, and I temporarily suspended the brand between 2010 and 2012. Then, in the fall of 2012, I relaunched it as Public School 2.0. In terms of operations, I moved everything to New York production and broadened my perspective to work in a more balanced way, without becoming too fixated on one area.

━━━ At what point did you feel you had achieved a breakthrough as a brand?

Osborne: To be honest, I don't feel like I've overlooked it yet, and I'm still in the process of searching for it. Frankly speaking, I'm continuing to challenge myself hard every day.


Dao Yi: I think you really feel a breakthrough or success when the business expands or when the design and quality reach their peak. I don't think we're at that level yet. However, when the brand first started, our approach was "it's fine if someone likes it," but I feel like we've mastered how to prioritize and balance things in manufacturing, like a craftsman, deciding which parts to spend more time on and which parts to skip.

Osborne: I'm not sure if this is the right analogy, but when we started the brand, it felt like a sprint. But now, we're working with the mindset of preparing for a full marathon.


━━━ At the IWP, where you won the top prize, you submitted a work based on the concept of "Lost Civilizations." What meaning did you intend to convey with this collection?

Osborne: When we entered the contest, we started by thoroughly considering the merits of merino wool. Merino wool is a natural material with such functionality that even Nike uses it in its products. It suppresses sweat odor, is warm, and is breathable. So we came up with the idea of, "In a world where merino wool is the only material left, how would humanity use it?" In other words, we assumed a lifestyle where people wear only merino wool, not only in winter but also in summer. We designed cardigans, hooded items, and other products to widely convey the remarkable functionality of merino wool.


Daoyi: Also, when people think of wool, they tend to imagine bulky, loose-fitting clothing, but I wanted them to know that smart, solid designs that fit the body well—the complete opposite—can also be beautiful and practical. I was also conscious of changing old stereotypes about wool.

Osborne: Another great point about wool is that it's washable. One of the design concepts is "daily wear," so a washable material is an essential element.

━━━ One of the defining characteristics of public schools is their relationship with music. What kind of music has inspired you?

Dao Yi: The generation we grew up in was before the internet became commonplace. It was the era when MTV was just starting to become mainstream. Before MTV, there were hardly any music media other than records and CDs, and with those media, you could only listen to the sound. But with the spread of MTV, we could see not only the sound that musicians played, but also their fashion and performances. The inspiration I received from this medium was considerable, and it was theきっかけ (trigger) that made me realize that musicians with original sounds also have original styles. I'm always thinking about how I can express that kind of inspiration that musicians with such individuality and power exude, even in a public school.


━━━ It seems that public school collections often feature a lot of black items. Is that related to music?

Osborne: The reason we use a lot of black is because it's inspired by New York, where we've lived. I think black is a color that can camouflage your presence in a crowded city. But at the same time, it's also a powerful color that can assert your presence. I'm drawn to that versatility, which is why we feature a lot of black.

━━━ Finally, could you tell us what you would like to challenge yourself with in the future?

Dao Yi: We want to work towards becoming a more international brand than we are now. I believe the key to raising our status lies in improving quality, and for our knit items, we plan to contract with a specialized developer to upgrade them.

Osborne: In addition to expanding the number of retail stores, one of our goals is to have our own flagship store. We want to work harder to increase brand awareness. Besides my work at the public school, I also serve as the creative director for DKNY, and I am actively trying to broaden my scope as a designer so that both activities can be in good balance.

Text: Hasegawa Tsuyoshi
Photo: Ozawa Tatsuya

Left: Dao Yi Chou, Right: Maxwell Osborne

PUBLIC SCHOOL

Founded in 2008 by New York-born and raised Dao Yi Chou and Maxwell Osborne, this New York-based menswear brand blends fashion, music, and art in its collections, which are heavily influenced by contemporary and sophisticated culture, and the designers are hailed as leading figures of a new generation in America.

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