Public School Takes Home the Inaugural Men's International Woolmark Prize

New York’s own Public School has won the 2015 Men’s International Woolmark Prize. The victory marks the first time time an American label has been awarded the coveted fashion achievement. After winning last year’s U.S Woolmark Prize for Menswear, the designer duo of Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne went on to compete with four other finalists from around the world, presenting to a judging panel that consisted of fellow designer Paul Smith, respected menswear “Free Agent” Nick Wooster, GQ UK editor Dylan Jones, and Style.com‘s Tim Blanks. The winning collection consists of six distinct looks constructed from 80% merino wool. Well known for their exquisite layering pieces, coupled with expert tailoring, Dao-Yi and Maxwell brought the brand’s unique aesthetic to the international stage with looks ranging from a short-sleeved, wool funnel neck sweater and matching pleated shorts, over a black compression hood and tights, to the combination of a patterned cashwool compression pullover hooded top and matching tights that are underneath black wool shorts. Public School was rewarded $94,000 in prize money to be used towards furthering the success of the up-and-coming designer label, in addition to the opportunity to have their winning line stocked in global retailers such as Saks Fifth Avenue, 10 Corso Como, Harvey Nichols, David Jones, Isetan and Matches Fashion later this year. Public School’s trajectory is surely on the right path, with a resume that now boosts 2013 CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund top prize winners, 2014 CFDA Award for Menswear, in addition to their successful 2014-2015 Woolmark Prize campaign. Their victory is also an encompassing win for American-based designers vying for respect on the global fashion front.