Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow have announced their seminal decision to leave their posts at DKNY. The brains behind fashion brand Public School joined DKNY as co-creative directors almost two years ago, marking a new direction for the brand.
The pair attribute their decision to leave the label to the sale of the company from LVMH to G-III. In an email circulated to press, they explained: “Given the company sale and subsequent change in strategies, we have decided to step down and focus on our own business Public School. It’s been an unbelievable experience to work side by side with the wonderful people at DKNY, especially our amazing design team and atelier. We wish the company success in the future”. The duo also called Donna Karan “an inspiration“ during their appointment back in 2015.
Before Donna Karan resigned from the brand last year, Osborne and Chow were enlisted in response to a widening gap between the millennial market and DKNY’s traditional, New Yorker style. The pair are known for their off schedule warehouse shows, dynamic proportions and up-to-the-minute street style aesthetic – their influence has made a lasting, refreshing impact representing a new generation of NYC's fashion scene, in a forward thinking fashion climate that has seen merged women’s and men’s shows, and seen several major brands dropping out of the industry’s restrictive scheduling culture.
Recent times have seen many iconic, pioneering and innovative directors of big fashion houses choosing to slow up and step down – Raf Simons leaving Dior and Alexander Wang leaving Balenciaga are still fresh in the minds of the fashion set, and not forgetting Grace Coddington’s decision to step down as Creative Director at American Vogue. One thing’s for sure, we can expect the fashion landscape of 2017 to look very different.
