Proving that being “out” in fashion isn’t a permanent condition, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne return to the runway today with a spectacular 2026 menswear show. Since the public school’s inception in 2008, the brand has had several starts and stops. Highlights include winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund award and being presented with the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear in 2013. Two years later the designers were tapped to revive DKNY. At some point it all seems to be too much. As both wrote in satire. The New York Times Announcing their return, the edition that was placed in every seat at the show said, “We needed a break. A break that made us remember why we started this in the first place.”
And so Chow and Osborne are back, but they don’t want to talk about where they go from here. As Chow explained, “The title of the show is everything now, and it’s just about capturing the moment.” This is not meant as a bleak declaration of carpe diem, but an acknowledgment that, as Chow says, “everything is upside down and the things that you thought you could depend on and that you thought would be there in two years, one year, two months, are no longer there. Roll up your sleeves and get to work on this. Resistance.” (Note Gigi Brice’s fingerless gloves and kangaroo hats.)
The public school was always intended to represent Chow and Osborne’s needs and desires, which have naturally changed as they have. “We wanted to come back with a really, really sharp focus, and for us, that was just focusing on menswear,” Chow said in a pre-show interview. “It’s really just a super personal collection. It was just Max and me—no teams, no assistants.” As before, these pieces were not only created in New York, but represent and celebrate that world in one city. The crackling energy in the room was enhanced by the stunning soundtrack and the attitude of the models, who walked the runway with IDGAF confidence and bounce. All in all it was a reminder of why we love it here.
The show opened with a dark wash Canadian tuxedo: the cut and fit of this alternative suit added to the usual utilitarian reading of the fabric. Content was the real story here. There were luxe leathers in blue, a flaked Prince of Wales check cut into a boxy blazer with an asymmetrical close, a satin zip front in Big Apple Red, and a pin-striped half zip. Pants were low-waisted and mostly straight cut rather than high. These designers love a pair of shorts and they are neatly tailored as an alternative to pants and also layered over matching trousers.
A series of quotes was perhaps representative of Chow and Osborne’s maturity of age and experience. The idea was that you could throw one on anything. “That sense of ease, you take that from New York. You don’t have to be ready all the time,” Osborne said. The feeling of mourning, however, is non-negotiable.
