In his Future-featuring, infectious banger “Jumpman” — its title an ode to Michael Jordan’s iconic sneaker logo — Drake name checks French house Céline (despite Phoebe Philo’s dedication to another Nike classic, the Air Max). But Drizzy probably should have spat “Public School.” Last night, the New York-based brand unveiled its third Jordan collaboration in a presentation-cum-performance staged at Terminal 23 — Jordan’s unique consumer space that houses a basketball court regularly open to NYC youth programs.
Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne’s prior sneaker efforts have seen the NYC natives dress the Jordan I up with a sleek black upper and speckled sole, a detail which later appeared in the duo’s take on the Jordan X. But this time around, “it all started with the XII,” says Chow. “The XII has been really the archetype of the Public School uniform. When we were starting the brand, that was the shoe we’d show everything with. It’s funny to come 360 degrees and be able to work on a shoe that actually inspired a really big part of the collection.”
Uniform is precisely the word. Public School’s XII is a structural, ash-grey suede build that features an embossed “PSNY” on the sneaker’s tongue. In addition to the XII, the PS pair also put their twist on a new Jordan silhouette, the Horizon. Featuring a fully knit upper woven with geometric patterns, the shoe is an intriguing complement to the monochrome XII. The sneakers are accompanied by a capsule collection which features double-sleeved hoodies and shorts-leggings combos.
These offerings were unveiled in a center court presentation, which saw 12 models perform a choreographed dribbling routine with matching monochrome grey basketballs. “We’re obsessed with this idea of creating a uniform, and when we took this on, we knew there was going to be a performance piece,” said Chow. “This idea of this really synchronized performance was something we’ve always had in our minds, so we envisioned these 12 players. It’s unclear if they’re basketball players or if they’re soldiers or what. But it was about creating that cohesion.”
Though Chow and Osborne have uniform dressing on their mind, their ambitions of late have been anything but repetitive. After presenting their first-ever collection as the new creative directors of DKNY in September, the pair jetted to Dubai to present Public School’s first-ever pre-fall collection (and that was before curating the art works comprising Sotheby’s most recent Prints and Multiples sale in November). 2016 is sure to have more in store for the hometown heavy hitters, but Chow assures that the collections come first: “We’re excited to just really work and focus on the collections. We’re very blessed to be able to be creative and work on things that we really love and are passionate about.”
Check out the full Public School x Jordan collection here.
Credits
Text Emily Manning
Images courtesy BFA