Public School Says Its Nikes "Are a Metaphor" for Its Comeback (EXCLUSIVE)
Is it glib to point out that Public School New York's beautiful comeback was marked by beautiful Nike sneakers? No. These shoes weren't merely a footnote of its commanding return to the runway but a crucial symbol of the brand's long-gestating revival, as designers Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne tell Highsnobiety.
"it's really a metaphor for the entire collection," Chow said after the show, gesturing to Public School's clever take on the Nike Air Max Goadome boot. "It's one of our favorite boots."
The Public School story is not unlike that of the Goadome, albeit on a more human scale. The Goadome was well-received as a boundary-breaking shoe when it debuted in 2000 but it fell from the spotlight as tastes changed. It returned in 2026 as an ahead-of-its-time classic.
Likewise, despite achieving tremendous success in the early '10s, including a spate of industry prizes and grants, Public School was never on truly stable ground. This is a tough industry and as much as it's willing to praise you, it's rarely willing to support you.
At one point, Public School was sold at stores as huge as Harrod's, Saks New York, and Bergdorf Goodman. But it stopped showing at New York Fashion Week in 2018 after an off-calendar stint in 2016 and pivoted to direct-to-consumer sales with a flagship store in SoHo. By the time that the COVID-19 pandemic hit a couple years later, the store was closed and Public School was on hiatus as Chow and Osborne took on various other gigs, including jobs at New Era and Sergio Tacchini.
Then, in late 2025, a... supper club? The designers hosted a splashy but tight-knit affair with friends and press in September, a tease for things to come. The February 11 runway show is the thing that came, but it's not only a victory lap.
It's funny to call two multi-award-winning designers underdogs but the fact of the matter is that everyone wants to root for Chow and Osborne. They put on for New York menswear as it crystalized into something thoughtful more than raw denim jeans, and they came to represent the immense challenges that face (and often undermine) all young talent.
But now, through their own strength of will and vision, Chow and Osborne are back. And they have something to say.
"We want to show the army of boys coming to fight this revolution," Osborne says, noting that it was very intentional that Public School returned during Black History Month. "Everything's about right now."
The new Public School looks a little like the old Public School but also not exactly. That makes sense — who dresses the same way they did a decade ago? — but throughlines are evident in the trim, no-nonsense silhouettes. There's a little more looseness at play, some dropped shoulders on the bombers and some fullness in the wool slacks, but Public School was always reigned-in. Its approach was always to make staid tailoring look easy and cool. That eye remains intact.
So does Public School's eye for a great shoe. When it began partnering with Jordan Brand in 2015, it transformed underappreciated Jordan models in the 10s, like the 12s and the 15s, into tactile objects that bespeak good taste. Sport made suave. That's Public School. Its new Jordan 14s and Nike Goadome boots are proof.
"That boot is supposed to be All Conditions Gear [Nike ACG] but we put a double-monk strap on it, flipping what you'd normally use it for," Chow says. "That's the concept for a lot of things we do, taking items you think you know then flipping them into a next context. We really had to find our voice again as we matured," he continues. "We just wanted people to know that it's the same Public School with a new attitude.
Adds Osborne, "We're just happy to be in this moment."
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