F*ive W's: Public School

What: Public School

Who: Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne are both veterans of the fashion industry. Dao-Yi Chow is currently the co-owner of Arrive, one of Miami’s hot retail spots which offers fashion seekers a cool mix of European designers and top of the line streetwear and is the former Creative Director of Sean John. Maxwell Osborne, also a former designer at Sean John, is also a design instructor at Parsons School of Design, intermittently. “We are both teachers and students who continue to critique the culture we help create, resulting in a new vision of constructed garments that focus on fabric, fit and energy,” says Chow. “It’s the same energy that’s found at the start of every new movement.”

When: Founded about a year ago, the company will be releasing their first collection for Spring/Summer 2008.

Where: Items are available at Public School NYC website & Stores, Barney's New York, Harvey Nichols and Brooklyn Circus. You can go to their website to see a full list of locations that will carry their line.

Why Their HOT: Public School’s logo is a black apple with a feather quill, which pays homage to the Big Apple’s {New York} edgier side and an underlying quest for knowledge. Public School is a intricate mix of interweaving different styles and trends, such as a premium lambskin trench coat that can be unzipped into a cropped biker jacket. Or a fine wool cardigan layered with leather and metallic studs. Every item was on the Fall/ Winter 2008 theme of overachievers, arrogance and urban {particularly NYC} street smarts.

How: Prices will range from $72 for a T-shirt to $680 for leather outerwear. Wovens, jeans, and French terry knits will range from $125- $230. With the use of Italian vegetable dyed lamb leather, specially bonded cotton/nylon blends and Japanese 2x1 cotton twill, it's no wonder that their items provide luxury with simplicity and minimalism.

**Items from the Spring/Summer 2008 line, now available in stores