Iconic cap brand New Era has named Dao-Yi Chow its creative director. The co-founder of Public School and former co-designer of DKNY will develop the iconic cap brand’s first apparel line — “Brand New Era” — set to launch later this year, the company said in a statement.
New Era’s caps have long been an important signifier in sports and streetwear culture. The Buffalo, New York-based company is best known for producing headwear for NBA, MLB and NFL teams, including its iconic New York Yankees fitted “59FIFTY” cap. Recently, New Era has pursued partnerships in Formula 1, as the competition undergoes a cultural revival and its teams have increasingly explored streetwear collaborations.
Chow, whose work is inspired by streetwear and sports silhouettes, did a decade-long stint as creative director of Sean John, the label started by American rapper Sean Combs (also known as P. Diddy), before co-founding the celebrated start-up Public School with fellow New York native Maxwell Osborne. In 2015, the duo were hired to helm Donna Karan’s DKNY line, but stepped down less than two years later after LVMH offloaded the Donna Karan business to G-III Apparel.
”Dao-Yi’s unparalleled creativity and passion for sportswear makes him the perfect fit to lead our brand to the next level of product evolution,” said Jim Grundtisch, New Era’s president of global brand.
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Drawn by street cred and a sense of community, New York City youth are lining up for fast-selling fitted baseball caps with the same fervour they have for limited-edition sneakers.
