Maxwell Osborne’s New Line, AnOnlyChild, to Launch at Saks Fifth Avenue
Maxwell Osborne, codesigner of Public School, has a new women’s and men’s collection called AnOnlyChild, which is being released exclusively at Saks Fifth Avenue and Anonlychild.com on Tuesday.
AnOnlyChild, designed by Osborne alone, is made entirely of deadstock materials. Each piece in the collection is created from fabrics and materials gathered from friends along with excess cuttings and fabric scraps from the sewing room floors throughout the garment center.
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Osborne was inspired by the technique of needle punching from Ancient Egypt. He used that method to bind different pieces of fabrics, weaving them together to create a new hybrid fabric.
Osborne’s Jamaican heritage is prominently featured throughout his designs, and with this first collection, he looked to old family photographs from the 1970s as well as some hand-me-downs. The red dirt roads from Jamaica played a significant part in his color palette for the season. Earth tones from the direct red to mustard yellow are evident. Key silhouettes include wide-leg trousers styled with braided belts that are similar to hemp belts worn by Rastafarians, intricate mesh marina tops and a puff sleeve two-piece set.
Courtesy of AnOnlyChild
“While this process prevents us from recreating a consistency throughout the collection, we consider it to be an advantage,” Osborne said. “Each of our garments retains the soul of their fabrics’ previous life to form something unique, one-of-a-kind and sort of like an only child,” he said.
Osborne said he’s not planning to have a show in February for his second collection, but will present it later this spring.
“We’re not being pressured to make sure we’re on the calendar,” he said. He explained that the way they get their fabrics from floor scraps is time consuming, and the brand can’t be on a calendar. Because the company works with deadstock fabrics, they evaluate them and find that certain ones can be used only for a limited run. For example, for the first collection, he had more leather than he would normally show in a collection, but a leather factory said to him, “Please come take this.”
“It’s a very interesting creative approach,” said Osborne, noting that he’s creating backwards because he’s starting with the piece goods and figures out how it fits in with his aesthetic and storytelling.
His first collection has about 15 to 18 styles.
Courtesy of AnOnlyChild
Osborne said he wanted to design “something I can get my arms around before it gets out of control.” Hoodies will retail for around $300, leather jackets are more than $2,500 and dresses are around $600, he said. He plans to offer four seasons a year.
Osborne said he is financing the collection himself, along with friends and family. He said Dao-Yi Chow, his partner in Public School, isn’t involved in AnOnlyChild, but Chow and his son walked the runway show last September.
Courtesy of AnOnlyChild
Osborne said he usually gets inspiration from walking the streets, but said during COVID-19, “I didn’t have that, so you’re trying to look within.” He started looking to his family and being immigrants. “We’re just at the starting point and trying to tell a story. We’re in this moment where you have to draw inspiration from nothing. Being an only child, you have to have imaginary friends. You have to use your imagination to create this world. It’s the idea of making something out of nothing,” he said.
The accompanying ad campaign was shot at Osborne’s family home in Mount Vernon, N.Y. Entitled “Welcome Home,” the campaign was photographed by Bon Duke and styled by Ronald Burton 3rd. “If you’re still a kid and playing outdoors, what does that represent? It’s a mixture of all that playfulness vibe without being over-dramatic,” Osborne said.
The women’s line will be carried on the fifth floor of the Saks flagship, but the men’s will be on AnOnlyChild’s website.
Courtesy of AnOnlyChild
Osborne continues to codesign Public School with Chow. They previously had a stint designing DKNY, when it was owned by LVMH Mo?t Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
SEE MORE:
Public School’s Dao-Yi Chow and Maxwell Osborne Win CFDA + Lexus Fashion Initiative
Maxwell Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow to be Honored by Gordon Parks Foundation
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