Band of Outsiders

April 8th, 2010

New York City, September 12, 2009

Images ioulex Words Susan Locht

Last September, the world got its first glimpse of Band of Outsiders’ Spring 2010 collection. The New York air carried a hint of autumn, wind pushing the odd, dry leaf up the street. But inside Chelsea’s Milk Studios, it was warm and sunny. Bright murals of sky and ocean lined the walls, heaps of sand covered the floors, grass poked between boulders, and small toy boats floated in pools of water. Skipping Fashion Week’s catwalks for the sort of daring presentation the label is known for, BOA dropped their 43 male and female models into quirky California beach vignettes.

“I try to stay away from runway for a few reasons,” explains Scott Sternberg, the designer behind Band of Outsiders and the women’s offshoot, Boy by Band of Outsiders, both of which playfully reimagine preppy vintage. “First, runway feels a little antiquated, so why not explore other ways of showing the clothes and engaging the press?” Besides quality craftsmanship and detail in tailoring and fabrics, it’s the creative concepts behind the collections that make BOA stand out.

“For Spring 10, the concept was very simple – turn Milk Gallery into a beach. We carted in tons, literally, of sand, and photographed a panoramic of a beach in Massachusetts that felt Malibu-esque.” The result? A very odd beach party – one at which ogling editors and adoring fans rubbed shoulders with Hollywood actors and the New York fashion media elite. Jason Schwartzman and Grace Coddington, Kirsten Dunst and Tavi, Rachel McAdams and Sally Singer. The juxtaposition was hilarious: guests in their New York best, most dressed head-to-toe in black, face-to-face with fresh young models in rolled-up chinos and Sperry topsiders, hair beach-blown and sun-kissed. One model sips a milkshake, another searches for coins in the sand with a metal detector.

These offbeat scenarios highlight what makes Sternberg’s brand different. The clothes are inspired by vintage boys’ school attire, but the way in which he shows them off brings a fresh take to what otherwise might appear to be a high-end version of Gap. His unconventional approach extends to all of BOA’s endeavors. For example, instead of using models to shoot his lookbooks, the LA-based designer opts for actors, most often comedians: for Fall 2009, Sternberg himself shot Jason Schwartzman hamming it up in sharply tailored suits, shirts, and trousers (complete with a polaroid of Schwartzman splayed out on some stairs as though he had tripped and fallen). “I use actors because they tend to have more depth, and levity, than models.”

While he acknowledges there is something attractive about the slick advertisements the big European houses produce, Sternberg feels they’re bleak and boring, even old and out of touch. “One thing I’m always interested in exploring with Band of Outsiders is how to overcome what have become very tired visual clichés associated with fashion,” Sternberg explains. “The way I feel about clothing, about fashion, is much more playful, joyful, soulful, nostalgic, narrative, and even a little funny – not a pouty model in full makeup awkwardly holding a purse or something like that.”

In seasons past, Sternberg has used actors such as Marisa Tomei, Michelle Williams, and Sarah Silverman for his campaigns. For Spring 2010, Sternberg photographed actors/comedians Donald Glover, Dave Franco, and Leslie Mann at a yacht club in Marina del Rey. California is a favourite backdrop for Sternberg’s photo projects. “LA is a funny place – a relatively young city, and from an architectural perspective quite cacophonous – and these settings are especially interesting when contrasted with the east coast, Ivy League aesthetic in the clothes.”

Perhaps it’s unsurprising that a label named after a Jean-Luc Godard film would spend so much time considering context, image, and the emotional range of its models. Band of Outsiders seems to have gotten the mix right, because we can’t wait to see what they’ll do next.