Band of Outsiders raises a red flag: What’s going on with the beloved L.A.-based fashion brand?
Band of Outsiders founder and creative director Scott Sternberg, right, backstage at a 2012 women’s runway show during New York Fashion Week.
Something’s afoot at L.A.-based Band of Outsiders, the contemporary men’s and women’s label launched by Scott Sternberg in 2004 that has reportedly recently laid off staff and canceled orders.
Citing several people who worked “at, or with, the company,†a post Tuesday morning on the website fashionista.com reported that “Band of Outsiders has laid off the majority of its staff, and canceled all fall wholesale orders.†And a pair of local buyers told The Times that the company had canceled their fall orders.
When contacted to confirm or deny the Fashionista report, representatives for the brand responded via email: “We have no further comment at this time but will be in touch with information when available.â€
Efforts to reach Sternberg directly for comment were unsuccessful, but he apparently did speak with fashion industry trade paper WWD, which reports he wasn’t confirming or denying reports that he’s shuttering the business, and quotes him as saying: “Nobody knows anything at this point but me, [a]nd I’ve been advised not to comment at this time.â€
Buyers for two locally based retail accounts, Stacey Todd (which has boutiques in West Hollywood and Studio City) and e-tailer The Dreslyn.com, based in downtown L.A., did confirm that their fall orders had been unexpectedly canceled while others, including Barneys New York, declined to comment.
News of rough waters at the brand -- whatever they ultimately turn out to be -- comes as a surprise for the prep-inspired brand that recently hit the 10-year mark and has long been a favorite of the fashion flock. Launching in 2004 with two products -- slim-fitting men’s shirts and super-skinny neckties -- it eventually grew into full men’s and women’s apparel and accessory collections.
In 2007, Sternberg was one of 10 finalists for the Council of Fashion Designers of America/Vogue Fashion Fund award. In 2008 he took home the CFDA’s emerging menswear designer of the year award, and in 2009 he earned the group’s menswear designer of the year award.
The label sells at department stores including Barneys New York and Saks Fifth Avenue as well as more than two dozen boutiques around the world including Ron Herman, South Willard and Opening Ceremony locally. The first stand-alone retail store opened in Tokyo in 2013, and the first stateside stand-alone followed in 2014, opening at 70 Wooster St. in New York City. (As of this writing, the gentleman answering the phone at the Wooster Street store reports it open for regular business hours.)
Since its founding, the Band brand has been based in Los Angeles. It moved into its current headquarters -- not far from the Hollywood Forever Cemetery -- in 2010.
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