Public School and Allen Edmonds craft the perfect menswear uniform

The foundation of any considered wardrobe rests, quite literally, at ground level. Public School, the architectural design house helmed by Dao Yi Chou and Maxwell Osborne, understands this principle as intimately as the cordwainers at Allen Edmonds, the Wisconsin shoemaker whose leather work has anchored American menswear for decades. Their collaboration, unveiled at the Saks NYC Flagship, represents the convergence of two distinct philosophies: the geometric precision of contemporary tailoring and the enduring craft of American shoe construction.

The collection speaks through its materials and proportions rather than proclamation. Allen Edmonds brings its technical mastery to the partnership, while Public School applies the spatial thinking that defines its silhouettes, creating footwear that moves beyond utility into the realm of architectural dressing. The shoes sit within the broader conversation about what a uniform means in modern menswear, one that prizes intentionality over trend.

The evening at the Saks flagship gathered those who think deeply about such matters: Bruce Pask, whose curatorial eye has shaped menswear retail, and Nick Wooster, whose personal dressing balances restraint with singular presence. The men of Public School shared their own philosophy on rapid fire style, articulating how the right shoe anchors an entire proposition of dress. In their hands, footwear becomes the grammatical foundation of the sentence that is a person’s appearance. The collaboration is available now at Saks Fifth Avenue in New York.

Imagery courtesy of Saks Fifth Avenue (@saks).