Public School’s Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne Talk CFDA Award

What a difference a year makes. In only two seasons, Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne of Public School have gone from winning the Swarovski Award for Menswear to being awarded the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Menswear Designer of the Year. The brand beat out bona fide stars including Thom Browne and David Neville and Marcus Wainwright of Rag & Bone, proving that winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund was just the push they needed for their business. Chow and Osborne chatted with WWD after their win to talk about Rihanna’s tongue-wagging ensemble and future plans for the brand.

WWD: How late did you stay up after your win?
Dao-Yi Chow: As we were recovering from last year’s Swarovski win, we were again caught off guard; we were so focused on being nominated and in the company of Rag & Bone and Thom Browne we didn’t think about “what if.” It caught us off guard and we were so surprised.
Maxwell Osborne: I had Joe’s Pizza at 3:30 in the morning. That tells you I had a good night.
D.Y.C.: Anytime you have Joe’s Pizza after a night, it’s a good night.

WWD: You beat some very established designers.
D.Y.C.: It feels unbelievable and just again, being nominated alongside those guys and looking at their body of work makes us want to do better and work harder and hopefully one day we will be in their shoes and have the business they have with stores and retail, and everything that comes along with establishing a brand. They motivate to get us going.

WWD: Do you consider yourselves established after winning this award?
M.O.: A bit, but now we feel more respected from everyone from the CFDA members to the overall industry itself with people wanting us to succeed and do well.

WWD: Why do you think you received the big award in a year’s time. What changed?
D.Y.C.: Certainly a lot of hard work and having a great team and having great mentors who believe and support. There’s something happening culturally with fashion and that we somehow speak to and people can relate to. The timing of it is just good for us and all of those things combined can contribute to it. But who knows? We are just really blessed and fortunate to be in this situation. Now more than anything, the win confirms in our mind just to really run with it, not to fight the disbelief but seize the moment and the opportunity and work towards that bigger goal.

WWD: Do you think winning the Swarovski award really helped your brand in the last year?
M.O.: We were just starting out, so not a lot of people know the brand. But obviously, the more recognition you get, the more doors open. We are going through our accounts now and just a year ago they wouldn’t reply to our e-mails. Now you have them able to reply and be a part of the movement.

WWD: So did your staff grow over the course of a year?
M.O.: It did grow quite a bit, to over 12 people now. If you go back in time one to two years, we had four people. So we grew quite a lot and we’re still looking to grow.

WWD: How will this propel your business?
M.O.: I think that it’ll just put us before the eyes we really need and make the brand bigger.

WWD: What is the next big dream for you?
D.Y.C.: You know, we’re going to put that award in a dark drawer and get ready for September. We’re going to build our infrastructure.

WWD: Is a retail store in the near plan?
D.Y.C.: Retail is definitely a part of the plan. Our aesthetic is really clear and we can really capture that and bring that to life in our own stores. Ultimately, to become a big business is to have retail as part of your model. We are taking things slowly. I don’t think this award will make anything different, unlike the Vogue Fashion Fund [where you get] the cash injection and close, close mentorship from Rodrigo [Bazan, president of Alexander Wang], Anna [Wintour] and Mark [Holgate] from Vogue. This award is different in that you celebrate the night and you revel in the fact that your peers have recognized you. It’s really the belief and a boost to your confidence more than anything else and wow, maybe other people see our vision and they also want to see us do well. But then you leave that for the night and you celebrate the night, then go back to your office at 8:30 in the morning and it’s back to business as usual. In that respect, the award doesn’t change anything. The plans are the plans but it does give us more confidence. It’ll probably end up on one of our empty bookshelves.

WWD: Did you get to meet Rihanna?
D.Y.C.: We didn’t. The Menswear Award was given out in the beginning so we were backstage doing press when she went up for her Style Icon Award.

WWD: But did you glimpse her very outer-worldly sheer ensemble?
M.O.: Yes, we like that.
D.Y.C.: Yes, that is nice. Sheer is nice!

WWD: Did anyone tell you anything at the event that stuck with you?
M.O.: Andrew Rosen said to put the trophy away and get back to work. Oh, and Anna Wintour said, “Maxwell, keep your head up.” Apparently, when I went onstage, I kept looking down.
D.Y.C.: We are just so thankful and grateful and excited to be a part of this industry and hopefully will become a big, big brand one day.

WWD: What advice do you have for the hopefuls who want to one day be in your shoes and receive this award?
D.Y.C.: I hope no one wants to become the next Public School but want to become the next them. It’s just stick to your creative vision and believe in yourself and be around people you trust and admire, build a great team and listen. And then hopefully you’ll get far.