Sacai and Public School arrive in Manila

DAO-YI CHOW AND MAXWELLOSBORNE of PUBLIC SCHOOL

MANILA, Philippines - Public School is a New York story. Designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne, born and raised in New York City, represent the convergence and restless energy of the city in which they live and work. Founded in 2008, Public School is redefining the landscape for menswear and women’s wear. Chow and Osborne blend high and low references from fashion, music and art to create a point of view that is both unique and precisely detailed.

They design and manufacture the full range of their collections in New York, incorporating fabric from the best Italian, Japanese and American mills. It is paramount to the Public School brand DNA that it keeps its production roots in New York, supporting local tailors, pattern makers and skilled garment workers. It is these genuine and personal experiences throughout the development process along with their design mantra ‘’finding perfection in imperfection,” that epitomize the brand and its commitment to produce only the finest quality clothing.

In 2010, Public School was the sole menswear brand chosen by the Council of Fashion Designers of America to be part of the inaugural “Fashion Incubator” business development program. After focusing on moving one hundred percent of production to New York City, Chow and Osborne affirm the brand’s ability to inject the attitude of their hometown into their designs.

In June 2013, the brand was honored with the CFDA Swarovski Award for Menswear.

In November 2013, it was named the winner of the prestigious 2013 CFDA Vogue Fashion Fund Award. Public School was one of 10 finalists nominated for the award — it was their first nomination and win.

During New York Fashion Week last year, they introduced the brand’s first collection of women’s wear to critical acclaim. The collection included a wide range of ready-to-wear, outerwear and accessories.

Currently, the Public School Collection is available at major department stores and specialty boutiques including Barney’s New York, Harvey Nichols, Isetan, Odin, MaxField, and Louis Boston. Locally the menswear line is now being carried by the Homme et Femme group and is available at Univers in Rockwell, Makati.

Locally, Public School is now available at Univers in Rockwell, Makati.

CHITOSE ABE of SACAI

Chitose Abe, creative director of Sacai (a label she founded in 1998), is finally getting the spotlight she deserves after many years of being under the radar. The newest cult brand counts fashion’s most important figures as fans: from Sarah Mower to Suzy Menkes and Anna Wintour to Karl Lagerfeld, all have publically expressed their support for the 15-year-old Japanese brand.

Prior to founding Sacai, Abe worked for many years at Comme des Garçons as a pattern cutter under the legendary Rei Kawakubo, and later on joined the design team of the equally revered Junya Watanabe.

Abe owns 100 percent of her business, which allows her complete creative control and freedom to select any commercial considerations she chooses. All design and production are done in Japan.

For its spring/summer 2015 collection, Sacai riffs on a theme of uniform, inverting and subverting the familiar. Working with authentic silhouettes, cutting and splicing them into unexpected juxtapositions, with technical fabric innovations that allude to a couture-like world, staying true to the handwriting that’s been at the heart of Sacai since the beginning.

A military jacket is “inserted” into the soft femininity of a tulle blouse, playing with the construction to create a new structured silhouette. A utilitarian khaki skirt bursts into a fan of chiffon pleats. The stripe insignia on a sleeve is reinvented in grosgrain ribbon. Navy chiffon inserts reveal lingerie detail underpinnings. A flight jacket is reinterpreted with a uniform button detailing.

Structured guipure lace is inserted into uniform silhouettes to form new three-dimensional shapes, bringing a modern elegance to the idea of surplus. A classic blackwatch check is overlaid with stitching to create a new iteration of lace. Cotton drill is laser-cut and over-printed for a futuristic take on broderie anglaise.

Lacing inspired by utility dressing weaves its way throughout, most prominent on pumped-up open-front surplus boots. Sacai Ambush jewelry combines the high shine gold against colored enamel.

Sacai is now available at Univers in Rockwell, Makati.