When Public School New York relaunched after a seven-year hiatus, fans of the celebrated NYC menswear label rejoiced. Following a homecoming at February’s New York Fashion Week, founder-designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne wasted no time getting back into it, dressing Jay-Z in a custom white canvas jacket from the spring-summer 2027 collection for his 25th Anniversary The Blueprint show at Yankee Stadium, and outfitting Patrick Schwarzenegger in a Dali-inspired look for the Met Gala. The duo’s return to NYFW this week revealed a collection of vibey monochrome tailoring and outerwear, the most audacious of which was the bejeweled anorak Chow wore when he and Osborne emerged to take their bows.
The coat, cut from midnight blue Italian lambskin, shimmered under the stage lights of the runway thanks to a constellation of hand-applied diamonds, no less than 500 in all, cascading down the chest, back and shoulders. Created in collaboration with KAY, which provided the 1-carat round and oval-cut stones, the jacket is the latest sign that Public School’s designers haven’t lost their knack for creating ambitious, show-stopping collabs.
Courtesy of Public School
According to Chow, the one-of-one creation, which is said to be valued at $200,000, was an integral part of the plan for Public School 2.0. “When we relaunched, we knew this jacket with KAY was going to be a key piece,” Chow says in a behind-the-scenes video. “The initial concept for the diamonds on the jacket is the idea of elements coming into play,” he explains. “We’re looking at diamonds as a natural element, almost like raindrops cascading down.”
The creativity of the concept and the audacity of the execution will be familiar to anyone who was around for Public School’s first run in the teens. This is, after all, the brand that released a string of hot Jordan collabs and helped to launch (literally) a new Cadillac model by flying it through a midtown warehouse. Fortunately for anyone who missed out, Chow and Osborne are back on top form, and Public School New York is ready to make its mark on a new decade of high-fashion streetwear.
