Yesterday I had the opportunity to head over to Milk Studios and check out the Band Of Outsiders F/W 2010 presentation with a few friends, some new and some old. I would be lying if I said I wasn't extremely excited based on the simple fact that I am a huge fan of BOO and its designer Scott Sternberg. Most people already know Sternberg's success story, but for the uninitiated: Scott was a Hollywood agent that quickly grew tired of all the L.A. bullshit (the dumb stuff we see on Entourage?) so he decided to make a dramatic career change and went into fashion. What started as a tiny brand has quickly grown into something much bigger thanks to skinny and small everything and the requisite editorial/celebrity endorsements. Band Of Outsiders makes some seriously great left coast prep. It's kinda like the younger, cooler brother of Ivy League style who now lives in Los Angeles and is auditioning for parts. I've always been so pumped for what BOO does (even if it doesn't fit me well), but last night my high expectations finally caught up with me.
Now I don't want to make it seem like I hated the showing, the collection or anything like that so I apologize if you're reading this in your head with the voice of a hater. Ultimately though I did leave Milk Studios bummed and uninspired. Despite the "new" pieces, some of which were actually quite good, things felt decidedly stale. I don't ever want Scott, and subsequently Band, to stop being itself, but there has to be a tipping point eventually. A brand's identity is one of the hardest things to establish in this industry and Scott should never forfeit what he has steadily built from the ground up. On the flip side, a brand's identity should never be a hindrance to the collections it produces. There is a distinct difference in the overall identity of something and the various identities of the little pieces that make it up. If you had showed me pictures from every fall collection from Band all jumbled up there is no way I would be able to differentiate any of it. There is no way I could even pick out everything I saw just 24 hours ago. It all runs together so well and that's actually what bothers me about Band Of Outsiders. Where are the "themes"? What is "fresh"? You tell me.
It's tough to claim that the running cohesiveness of a brand can stifle it's own success, but that's what I feel might be happening. I'm afraid Scott is smothering his brand by refusing to step even an inch outside of his comfort zone. A F/W collection inspired by goth or something, and this is just a hypothetical, might not get you all the positive press or buys you are used to, but it will at least let things breath for once. It's like the old adage says, "take a step back to move forward".
With that out of my system I can talk about the stuff that I actually really loved about F/W 2010. I know Angelo has already touched on this, but I can confirm from my first person account that certain outerwear was on point. Keeping with Band's aesthetic, the mood was light and retro. The blue parka with color blocking was possibly my favorite piece in the entire collection and took an iconic Americana piece we have seen so much of and gave it a gnarly, 80's surfer twist.
-L.A.S
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Expectations...gotta let go of 'em. Go easy on Scott. He never promised to inspire you with his craft—he never promised any of us anything. In fact, most people don't. Yet, we place upon them our own expectations and point our finger at them when we are disappointed.
ReplyDelete@ Castleberry: Things must be held to a standard. Otherwise we'd all be wrecking our Toyotas. In this case, Scott is a "fashion'" designer, which implies that he is 'new' and 'progressive'. I can't say he delivered much of either. In the end, it all depends on how BOO's sales are.
ReplyDeleteGreat write up L.A.S. I personally don't expect much "newness" from BoO which is why I guess I like it so much. Steady and consistent works for me with clothing especially when it comes to quality and fit. I don't know if I would want "thematic" or "freshness" with my favorite brands unless it was consistent with the brand and aesthetic. I do get jazzed about the accessories and the outerwear and think there is room to breathe in those categories.
ReplyDelete@The Enthusiast—Scott Sternberg is a clothing designer. Honestly, the only people he answers to are himself...and his stockholders (if he has them). He can honestly do whatever the hell he wants. If he wants to stay within his comfort zone and it sells...then what's the problem? He's not Thom Browne...and he never claimed to be (to my knowledge). You want fashion? Go wear Thom Browne. Oh wait...nobody really "wears" Thom Browne...but he does fit your "fashion designer" template.
ReplyDelete@ Castleberry: Last time I checked, young customers, who are the people who buy BOO, tend to be flaky and ever evolving buyers. They tend not to stick to the same style forever (google hipster timeline, you'll see). While the styles are similar, BOO doesn't target the same audience of companies like JPress. JPress, LL Bean, Brooks Brothers etc. targets those who will be buying from them for years, while BOO targets those hipsters previously mentioned. I'm not saying that this collection will sink BOO (God knows they have enough buyers), but like any brand targeting young people (see Gap 10 years ago) they, at some point in the next two or three years, must evolve with the young person.
ReplyDeleteLAS. Great write up. Opinions about opinions are just opinions after all. Point Taken by all.
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