Maxwell Osborne
After juggling multiple collections a year for over a decade, the designer is intentionally taking his time with his pandemic-born line, anOnlyChild
anOnlyChild was born in a moment of reflection. It is also based on the idea of heritage: I wanted to pay homage to my family and how far they've taken me. I was born in New York City, so the product is also made in New York City.
During the pandemic, we were locked down and not able to buy or fabricate anything so we decided to create something out of nothing. We had worked on a project with Eileen Fisher a few years earlier where we were introduced to a range of sustainable technologies. Everything we made this way turned out so well that I wanted to go deeper with this tech. I began experimenting using fabric remnants I had in my house or pieces my friends gave me. We just started creating our own fabric this way. That’s how anOnlyChild really began.
At Public School and DKNY, we [Osborne and Dao-Yi Chow] were designing eight collections a year for both brands. At Public School, we eventually took a more sustainable approach and slowed it down. For a variety of reasons, we were not in a position to do the same at DKNY. I began to feel very strongly that I did not want to be part of the problem for future generations.
anOnlyChild is created to be sustainable but we don’t lead with that. We want to be socially conscious at every level and that means making products that we can love and appreciate over time. We're using deadstock fabric as well as repurposing old garments, which substantially alters the design process. We find our fabrics by scouring factories, workshops, and, in some cases, our friend’s basements. All of the leather goods are made from ends and remnants. If there's a factory that has extra cotton or silks we'll take them. Then we’ll dye it, print on it, and take it back to them to sew.
Being here in New York City keeps us nimble. It keeps us ready to move. We want to be closer to the product. We want to oversee the process. We want to go to the factory. We want to talk to [the workers at the factories] about it. If you're making something in Peru and the labels are in the wrong place are you going to send it back to Peru? It's not going to happen. With our process, we have to be especially savvy. When the fabric is limited you have to be able to work with pattern makers and figure out how to redesign or tweak the garment to allow it to still do what you want.
The Garment District is word of mouth. There's no advertising, so the more people you talk to, the more access to factories you have. It's really about community. Things don't get done unless you go there yourself. They're still very much in the old-school mindset, where you communicate face-to-face. No one has an Instagram account. I don't even have an email address for any of the factories. You have a cell phone number. That's how it is.
I think when you build a relationship with these factories and factory owners, you want to see them succeed, and they want to see you succeed. I would love “Made in America” to become a thing. It's nice no matter what industry you're in. But we need to come together and invest in this type of craftsmanship.
-As told to Sarah Cristobal