Interview with Scott Sternberg from Band of Outsiders
The Band of Outsiders article I wrote for the September issue of Blend magazine was in Dutch, so what I can share with the global attick is the original Q&A we did in early August this year. Enjoy.
A selection from the accompanying shoot in Blend magazine by Thomas Whiteside
We spoke last year around the same time. You just won the CFDA award and were about to present your new collection. You were planning to expand Boy & men’s accessories. And mentioned some ‘retail projects that won’t seem much like retail’ starting in Tokyo? So how did all that go?
It’s been a pretty great year. Boy. is now produced in Italy with a really fantastic production facility, so most of my time has been spent going back and forth and working with this amazing team, getting to know each other, developing two collections. And the men’s is continuing its story organically, finding great customers along the way. Sadly the retail project in Japan is still stalled. It’s a long story, but I’m trying to take a very old piece of machinery from the U.S. and re-wire and re-work it to do something entirely different, in a different country where the electrical, err, stuff is different.
Your homepage features a series of Polaroids of LA homes. What’s the relation to Band of Outsiders? They look like crime scenes to me. Or at least invoking fantasies about who lives there, how they live and so on.
Ooh, I like the idea of them being crime scenes, although that wasn’t the point. I decided we needed a home page, and the most logical subject for the Polaroids on a home page seemed to be homes. There are some pretty great ones around Los Angeles, so that worked out nicely. Speaking of, I need to get out and shoot some more - freshen things up. In terms of what it says about the brand, I would throw that back to you. For me, all of the imagery and ideas we’re putting out under the Band of Outsiders brand don’t necessarily have to be of clothing or directly related to fashion. It’s all about a feeling, an approach, and a way of looking at things.
What is essentially Band of Outsiders? (you called it ‘fetishized American Sportswear’ on Style.com) Overstating the understatement? If something matters, everything matters?
That’s a big question. And there’s two directions from which to answer - the clothes, and the brand around them. Let’s stick with the clothes for now. The men’s clothes are about looking at the classics and making them feel new, fresh, and completely covetable; the women’s are about that too, but a little more conceptual in their approach, with a heavy anchor in menswear. Boy is also a bit about playing off of trends, re-working them into our language. Both have a strong focus on tailored clothing and offering something new and fresh in that category.
What is it exactly that clothes do in your view? How important are clothes on the scale with other expressions like music, movies, art?
Well, clothes clothe, and are a means of personal expression, a marker or signifier of one’s identity within - and the place they see themselves within - a given community or society as a whole. On a different level, Fashion has certainly become a very relevant and active particpant in the cultural dialogue - it can at times both reflect and drive popular culture and the general temperature of society, just like music, movies, painting, theater, etc. all do.
You seem to be on a quiet sidetrack of fashion, designing for people who prefer ‘personal style’ over following fashion trends. But then again, what you’re doing seems to be a big trend, at least in menswear, very ‘Sartorialist’ (Scott Schuman), but maybe more shy or relaxed?
To the first part, I hope so - quiet and personal are the point. I really believe the type of clothes I make (and the more conservative variety that Mr Schuman favors) are always in fashion for men; they’re American classics, nothing too tricky, the building blocks of a man’s wardrobe. The cut and overall approach fall in line with where mens clothes seem to be right nowa balance of something very trim and tailored, yet very relaxed and easy in appearance and feeling. This is something I was striving for regardless of any sort of trend.
How personal is Band of Outsiders? And Boy? What do you think it is you share with your fans?
Band is incredibly personal - it’s a direct extension of me, my past, everything I love. Boy is certainly personal too, but a bit more abstract in terms of the creativeprocess, more conceptual, a bit of a laboratory for ideas and playing around with what I do for the men in a very different way.
Do you consider yourself a craftsman?
I consider myself a designer and creative director much more than a crafstman. I don’t really cut and sew all that much, I drape when it comes to dresses and stuff, but this isn’t the focus of my work or where I want to put my time. I’m much better at other things, and am pretty good at communicating my vision and delegating tasks. Craft requires a singular focus, and years and years of perfecting a particular skill or trade, which I have so much respect for, so instead of trying to do that myself, I make it a point to collaborate with great patternmakers, sewers, tailors, etc. in everything we do.
How does this manifest in your current collection (Fall 09) for example (based on another Godard movie: La Chonoise from ’67)?
In general, the inspiration for the collection never translates all that literally into the clothes - it just serves to give me and my team a bubble of thought and mood within which to work for 6 months, and a context for pulling the presentations together for fashion week. It helps you make design choices - from the cut and color to the smallest details - and really helps in instigating new ideas, unexpected ideas, that lead to garments I never would have..
You consistently choose performance style collection presentations, like a movie still or scene. Do tell….
My feeling as always been that the runway is a forum for a conversation about Fashion with a capital “F” - trends, direction, innovation, etc. And I don’t think we’re really part of that conversation. We’re telling our own little story over here. But, fashion week is too good of an opportunity to pass up - it’s a chance to get one clear message across to the same people at one time. So we do it in our own way, which is very much about storytelling in a dynamic, cinematic way.
I sense a very boyish attitude in Band of Outsiders, there’s a sense of play, of sophisticated geekiness, and something very ‘insider’ in fact. Who wears it? What is your biggest market?
It is quite youthful, although as far as I understand from the stores, there’s not necessarily one type of Band customer, other than they are probably quite fit and trim as the cut is not so forgiving. Japan is a huge market for us - the aesthetic, the American roots, the fit, the conceptual approach - all play quite well there.
And does the same go for the Boy collection for women? (Boyish-girlishness?) Who is the Boy girl?
Well, there’s the girl who just wants a great jacket, a beautiful tailored blazer - lots of types fall into that girl. Then there’s the girl like Kirsten Dunst or Michelle Williams, one who has a sense of ease to their style, who can put pieces together in an effortless way, and responds to that part of Boy.
Is looking ‘good’ all about looking ‘effortless’?
Certainly - effortless, or really comfortable, easy, secure in the clothes.
The Boy part, women looking great and sexy in menswear based styles, how did that take off since we spoke last year? What have you learned about dressing women?
Dressing women is a constant learning process - women’s bodies are so diverse, and their tastes and the trends are constantly changing. I’ve tried to be both loose and strict with the Boy. concept, staying focused on what we do well (tailored, shirts, etc.) and experimenting with dresses and other pieces through the Boy. lens.
How is the Sperry collaboration going? What is it about the boat-shoe for men that fits Band of Outsiders. Ps. Your Boy-women don’t get to walk so comfortably!
Sperry is winding down. It was a great collaboration, lots of fun. The boat shoe is an American staple, which Band is always focused on updating. It’s a silly little shoe, and so easy to wear, so non assuming. Regarding the Boy shoes, they’re pure show shoes, not for real life - I always have Manolo make them as high as possible, with any extra lift possible, so the girls look as gargantuan as possible for the show. Somehow that always looks better.
What’s in the pipeline?
I just introduced a new men’s collection called This is not a polo shirt. by Band of Outsiders. It’s a collection entirely made up of polo shirts, that’s sort of about the iconic polo shirt.
What makes Scott Sternberg really happy and going these days?
Tough times, right? I’m inspired by pure ideas, honest people, great art, most types of music. I’m reading a lot more. Watching old movies as always. And back episodes of House on TV. Can’t get enough of those lately.
Who would you LOVE to dress? (a band? A movie? A person?)
It’s always cool when someone whose work I’m a fan of likes and wears the clothes, somehow very gratifying. And it’s just as cool when a total stranger on the street is in them. We sell to a lot of bands, and have worked on a few TV projects here and there. It would be cool to work on a film, but I can’t imagine having the time just yet!
Tags: Band of Outsiders, Scott Sternberg