A Return to Self: Public School New York

Before the show, we caught up with Dao-Yi and Maxwell to to get a backstage look at the colelction and hear more about their time away and the inevitable return to New York Fashion Week.

How you guys been? How's the preparation going?

Dao-Yi  – We thought we had more time. You always think you have more time than you do, but you just never have enough time. So we've just been grinding it out.

After this break, what made you guys return now with Public School?

Dao-Yi – I think overwhelmingly for us, it was sort of now or never. I don't think either of us thought the break was going to be this long. And it was like COVID happening in between and that just was a blur, so nothing was even being thought about then. And then coming out of COVID, it just seemed like it took time for the gears to start working again. And so I think it was a couple of moments, really. I mean, a couple of things that happened to us individually, to us while we were together, just signs of being called back to do it, that if we didn't do it now, that we wouldn't get back to it.

Maxwell – Yeah. The conversations of just talking about what we like, what's happening in the world, it lent itself to, ‘Wow, this is how the conversation started when we first started Public School.’ And it was never ‘if’, it was a matter of ‘when’. And then that urgency started to creep up where the conversations increased from a long convo from every other month, to a month, and then to every week, to scheduling meetings, to a calendar, to here we are. It was just a matter of when and how we could strike.

I know you guys were both working on other things during this time. Was it a case of you still discussing ideas for Public School during this time or was it just a complete break and now you've come back?

Dao-Yi – I don't think we ever stopped talking about it. I think Public School was so ingrained into our lives personally, professionally. We literally have probably spent more time with each other than we have our own family. So it goes without saying that we are family. So there was never a time where we didn't talk about it. There was never a time where a memory wasn't centered around Public School or a big moment or occurrence wasn't centered around something for Public School. So that never left. It was just figuring out how we could return properly and be in a place where we could be more thoughtful about it, be in a place where we wouldn't take things for granted, which I think happened right before we stopped.

Does Public School mean the same to you guys now as it did when you last showed?

Maxwell – Yeah, it actually means way more. I think from the last showing, there was a bit of what Dao was saying; we took it for granted. The collection ran away from you, you know, we were at another company, we're doing DKNY at the same time. There was things that you almost don't even recognize your own company anymore, you start to do exclusives and things like that. So when you don't recognize your own collection, you kind of just... Not to say you don't love it as much, but you just take it for granted. You just feel like it's a stepchild to you now. It's not like your child. And I think what happens now is the conversations are, “This is ours.” We know that we've done that before and we can't let that happen again.

We want to be on it all the way. So it means a lot more than it did in the past. And I think there's a lot more riding on it with our families, with everybody that's been with us and took this journey with us. It's a lot more riding on it this time around than it was in the past.

Dao-Yi – Yeah, a hundred percent. A hundred percent. It means so much more now. You know, they say you never know what you have until you lose it. And for us, it felt like we lost it these past seven years. And the process that Maxwell was talking about towards the end, just running away from a lot of the things that we were doing because we weren't proud of it or it wasn't wholly ours. But I think this time around just to honor all the work that we had put in, the time that we put in, not just ourselves, but our family and our friends. Literally that universe revolves around Public School, not in a vain way, but just in how we approach life and how we talk about life and how we approach everything outside of fashion is a very Public School way. And so now this time around, it's really about legacy in that sense of being able to really leave something behind and, like I said, honor all the work that we put in and everyone that came along with the journey.

We have to honor that and we have to be able to have something to be able to pass on to a next generation.

So it probably feels closer to when you started Public School than it does to where you showed last. 

Maxwell – For sure. A thousand percent. A little bit more thoughtful in a way where we've matured. I think when we first started Public School, it was very much like everything was green. We just felt like we could do whatever. There was no rules. And now there's repercussions for everything that we do and we know that now.

Dao-Yi – Yeah. And plus it is a complete return to circle. It is returning not only just to a process where it was just Maxwell and I building the collection and it wasn't a whole huge team and advisors. It really just came back to what Maxwell and I were honestly feeling and how we could translate that into not only clothes, but messaging and voice and all those things. So it is definitely a return to the beginning. And quite literally just referencing our original collections. The first two collections, we have pieces that we're directly referencing. Which is a cool thing to be able to go back and have an archive of things that still resonate to this day that still make us feel that special feeling of wanting to put it on, wanting to go walk the streets in it, wanting to be seen in it.

So it's like getting back to that feeling is really a return to self in so many ways. And that's one of the main themes for the show, is this knowledge itself or this re-knowledge of self and the power behind it.

Design-wise, clothing-wise, does it feel like a continuation or like a restart in a new direction?

Maxwell – It's both. Not a restart. It's just us, more matured. It's like you're the same person, but you've changed because time is going by, and that's what the collection will reflect. A little bit of restraint.

Dao-Yi – Yeah, definitely restraint. There's really strong Public School DNA brand codes that we have that we'll never leave and you'll see that in a show without giving too much away. But really specific codes that were not based on a trend or not based in the moment. They were things that we felt to our core that were these timeless things that we still believe and that we still embody. But I think what's changed is just being able to execute those ideas in a higher expression and having the network and the resources to work with makers and factories and mills at a higher level, at the highest level.

So I think that that's what's changed. And then also really being able to embrace the times. The last round is a different world from now. Our last collection was seven years ago, and it's a completely different world. So I think there's a lot more of that. It's looking at the world around us and how much it's changed and being thoughtful about it and incorporating it so that it allows us to connect with our consumers and our community directly.

How do you feel about the current state of fashion? I guess more specifically, Fashion Week. I think there's a sense that New York Fashion Week's not the same, especially from when you guys last showed. Going into this one, how do you guys feel about it?

Maxwell – I think that's one of the last straws that broke the back. I think it really put the battery in our backs to do this. People all moved away from New York and people shit on New York, so it got us excited to show in New York. I think more than anything, that was the reason why we wanted to launch with the show because we feel like the energy's still here more than ever and there's a real renaissance happening here in the city that you won't get around the world.I think we need to bring New York back and we just really wanted to wave that flag.

Does that add a sense of pressure or expectation or does it feel more like a blank slate to go in and make a statement?

Maxwell – No, actually, I think it's a comfort blanket. It's like, why wouldn't we show here? And I don't think there's added pressure to that at all. I think it should make people feel welcomed and everybody should show back here. I don't think there's actually more pressure on that part. If anything, it's just pressure of the second coming, of coming back out and what are you saying?

How do you guys see your role and the voice of Public School in today's fashion landscape?

Dao-Yi – I think it's directly connected to the conversation around New York, how New York has always been the center of it all. And there's periods where it wanes, and there's other cities that come into the conversation of being more relevant, but there's no more relevant city than New York City. And our voice is uniquely centered around New York. And the Renaissance that Maxwell is talking about, this idea of getting back to things that are more real, blowing past all the smoke and mirrors of influence and celebrity. New York has always been grounded in this idea of pragmatism and aspiration, walking that fine line between having it all and losing it all in one second, and just being on that edge. There is no place like it. And so that's the line that we walk, that's the edge that we hang off of, that it could all go away. But even with that hanging over your head, you keep pushing and you keep moving forward and you keep fighting and you keep dealing with negative 10 degree winters so you can get to the spring, so you can experience summer, so you can enjoy fall.

And so there's a hero storyline to it that you got to fight through it all. It can't be all pretty, it can't be all roses, that there is beauty in the struggle. And without the struggle, then it just doesn't mean anything. And the struggle is real. You can't fake struggle. You can't influence struggle. You can't make struggle cool and pretty. You can't do any of that. You just have to do it. And that's what New York is. That's what New Yorkers do. And so the whole thing around New York Fashion Week is people have left and gone to show wherever. And so we just felt it was important for at least our first show to be back here in New York City, which is the center of it all for us, for the entire world.

Maxwell – Opening day. Which is very new for us. We've always taken a Sunday morning approach, so we're doing a Wednesday evening.

Yeah, one of the first ones. Rightfully so, I think. Has the design process for this one, the way you approach the collection been different? Has it changed over this time?

Maxwell – It actually went back to the original. We went all the way back to where we started this process. And it's always a conversation more than anything. It's either a conversation or a song or a speech, but this one was really just getting back to the conversations, but back in our apartments where we just sat and hung out and talked about what we're feeling, what we're going to do and how we're going to do it. It wasn't in the office, it wasn't anything. It was just back in the apartments, designing out of the apartment until it was time. Same thing, that's how we started originally. So it's all the way from the very beginning.

I can tell it's very much for you guys about return to self. What do you hope we take away from this one?

Dao-Yi – I think what we want is just people to be really clear about what the brand stands for. I hope that people will be like, ‘Wow, man, I miss them. I missed this point of view. I missed this real New York City point of view that's not flowery and roses.’ And nothing wrong with roses or flowers, but just a realness that people will be like, ‘Wow, I really miss this sort of realness.’ But also just aesthetically that it's very clear and succinct and on point. And also that it feels desirable that you are like, ‘Shit, I need that coat. I need those pairs of pants.’ That desirability is key. And then lastly, so much of what we create is really being impacted by all the things that are happening around the world here in our own country and being able to provide some commentary around there that people can relate to and just be part of the resistance, for lack of a better word.

Maxwell –That is a good word. Also, we want to make it exciting for American fashion. I think menswear specifically, we want people excited for men's wear in America. Being here and rooting for somebody like the hometown hero, I think we need it.

I know it's the day before your show, so I don't know if you've had a chance, but have you thought beyond this season and what it means for Public School moving forward?

Maxwell – No, everything's right now. Day by day, minute by minute. Really taking it by moment. 

Dao-Yi – Yeah. The title of the show is Everything is Now. And so it's like the conversation that we're having. Why is it this moment that you guys want to come back? What do you want people to take away? What are the plans for the future? Everything from our past, everything that our future will be is meeting at this moment right now. And so that's the concept of this.