Public School F/W 2015
With a name like Public School designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne are automatically aligned with ideas about youth culture and streetwise kids. The duo’s design sensibilities have always veered towards an exploration of all things urbane and youthful, but fall found them tackling mature subjects, specifically the 90s and its vibrant club scene. Though the 90s are currently enjoying a relevance renaissance, it is an era when most Public School aficionados were still in diapers. Chow and Osborne remember it well enough to revisit decade’s high points without delving too deeply into nostalgia. Starting with a black pleated floor length skirt and hooded parka combo paired with Timberland-esque boots on Molly Bair, Chow and Osbourne built on their tradition of luxuriously reinterpreting urban staples. Baseball caps, oversized hoodies and layered shades of grey have been seen on the streets of New York for decades, but when Chow and Osborne present them it feels refreshing.
Girls and boys were treated to an array of luxe-sport looks delivered primarily in shades of slate, black and navy. Designers have been ditching color in favor of neutrals this season, but many of the show’s most interesting moments came via the interplay of pattern and color. An uncharacteristically girly hooded-coats on Taylor Hill and Ana Buljevic mixed shades of salmon, violet and blue to great effect. Flowing shirt dresses on Astrid Holler and Issa Lish provided a touch of romance, while Piero Mendez’s blue plaid, navy leather and shearling look was subtler but every bit as exciting. Given the growing popularity of Public School’s aesthetic and the label’s status as one of NYFW’s hot tickets we’re sure to be seeing these pieces hit the streets and the editorial pages soon.
Review by Janelle Okwodu
Photos by Casey Vange for models.com
