EVERYTHING IS NOW

All Roads Have Led Us To This Moment

Seven years ago, we stepped away. We had the collections, all the awards, the big shows, and we had the noise. But somewhere in the speed of it all, we felt the need to pause. We had come so far, making something out of nothing, but didn’t recognize the place where we had landed. We need the time to remember why we started this in the first place: the convergence of the street and the atelier, the restlessness of the city, and the authenticity of dressing our friends and family.

We’re rebuilding Public School with lessons learned and a new found gratitude for the history we’ve built. It was never a case of if, but when. PS was more than fashion, it was a part of our collective psyche that extended into how we approached life.

A few years ago we sat at a restaurant in Hong Kong having dinner with our family. The patron sitting next to us peered over and gave a quick head nod, pointing to his sneakers. It was a pair of our 2017 PSNY X AJ15 release. We acknowledged with a hand over our hearts and a thank you. Somewhere midway through dinner, our neighbor left and politely nodded goodbye. When we finished our dinner, we asked for the bill but the waiter informed us it had already been paid by the gentleman at the next table. We were blown away. A complete stranger from across the world, who had never met us before, was compelled to pay for our (fairly expensive) dinner based on the connection to PS.

During our break, there’ve been several moments like this that have helped reconfirm our original mission — connecting different worlds through the lens of convergence and aspiration. On the eve of our first show back in over 7 years, we’re grateful to be back in position and charting our own course.

This newsletter will serve as the one place where we will document the journey ahead. The highs and lows, finding the beauty in the struggle, and sharing the New York stories that have made us who we are. No algorithms, no 15-second trends, just a sense of thoughtfulness and self discovery.

If you’re reading this on Wednesday Feb 11th before 8pm ET, say a prayer for us. It’s a miracle that we got here. Now it’s time to get back to work!

— Dao-Yi & Maxwell