Band of Outsiders Spring 2012 Ready-to-Wear Collection on Style.com: Runway Review

Band of Outsiders

NEW YORK, September 10, 2011

By Maya Singer

The Band of Outsiders Spring 2012 menswear collection made its debut this summer, at a presentation at Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy. Consequently, Scott Sternberg's womenswear collections, Boy and Girl, flew solo at his show this evening. That situation isn't likely to repeat itself soon, but this season it offered an interesting opportunity to reckon with the femme end of things at Band.

The verdict? These collections felt small. Sternberg is a strict editor of his shows, which is generally a good thing, but with the women's clothes standing alone, you sort of wished you could see more of the pieces he had undoubtedly left on the racks at his showroom. That was particularly true of Boy, the elder of the two women's lines. Seizing inspiration from Peter Weir's hypnotic film Picnic at Hanging Rock, Sternberg sent out a sampler platter of looks that conjured the film's Edwardian milieu. Its pastoral setting was reflected especially in toile de Jouy prints; Sternberg updated these materials by citifying them, subjecting the toiles to a reverse dégradé so they faded to black, and using them to make, among other pieces, a sharp cutaway trenchcoat. The other look cribbed from Picnic was schoolgirl chic—box-pleated skirts, neat blouses—and that was clearly catnip to Sternberg; he relishes an opportunity to exercise his fastidiousness. There was also a thread of pieces that were almost jarringly urbane, such as a slick, patent leather anorak, or a version of the classic Boy by Band bandage skirt executed in black leather and detailed with zips. These pieces worked, as just about everything did—the long duster coats were particular standouts—though the dégradé toiles may have been more compelling in theory than in practice.

Then there was Girl. After the show, Sternberg said his aim with that line was to summon the modern version of that Picnic at Hanging Rock girl, which he did by sending out 13 looks that were very, very pretty. The pastoral mood reigned here, from a quilted jacket in a microfloral print to a multi-floral dress in varying pastels. There was a creeping darkness—literally—in one look: a lace T-shirt and shorts set, in which the shorts had been dip-dyed in black at the hem. (This was one of those ideas you wanted to see extrapolated in a few other garments.) Overall, the Girl clothes suggested both that Sternberg continues to gain fluency in softness and curves, and that he could emerge as a serious rival to Ralph Lauren, given his ability to make clothes that tap into the romance of a world and a mood.

See all from Band of Outsiders › Timeline

A.F. Vandevorst	A.L.C.	Acne
ADAM	A Détacher	Akris
Alberta Ferretti	Albino	Alexander McQueen
Alexander Wang	Alexandre Herchcovitch	Alexandre Plokhov
Alexis Mabille	Alice + Olivia	Altuzarra
Andrew Gn	Anna Sui	Ann Demeulemeester
Anne Valérie Hash	Ann-Sofie Back Atelje	Anthony Vaccarello
Antonio Berardi	Antonio Marras	Aquascutum
Aquilano.Rimondi	Araks	Azzaro

Badgley Mischka	Balenciaga	Bally
Balmain	Banana Republic	Band of Outsiders
Barbara Bui	Barbara Tfank	Basso & Brooke
BCBG Max Azria	Bebe	Betsey Johnson
Bibhu Mohapatra	Bill Blass	Billy Reid
Blumarine	Bottega Veneta	Brood
Burberry Prorsum

Cacharel	Calla	Calvin Klein Collection
Camilla and Marc	Carlos Miele	Carolina Herrera
Carven	Celine	Chado Ralph Rucci
Chadwick Bell	Chalayan	Chanel
Charlotte Ronson	Chloé	Chris Benz
Christian Cota	Christian Dior	Christian Siriano
Christophe Lemaire	Christopher Kane	Christopher Raeburn
Clements Ribeiro	Collette Dinnigan	Comme des Garçons
Commuun	Costello Tagliapietra	Costume National
Creatures of the Wind	Cushnie et Ochs	Custo Barcelona
Cynthia Rowley	Cynthia Steffe

D&G	Damir Doma	Danielle Scutt
Daryl K	David Koma	Dennis Basso
Derek Lam	Diane von Furstenberg	Diesel Black Gold
DKNY	Dolce & Gabbana	Donna Karan
Doo.Ri	Douglas Hannant	Dries Van Noten
Dsquared²	Duro Olowu

Edun	Elie Saab	Elie Tahari
Emanuel Ungaro	Emilio de la Morena	Emilio Pucci
Emporio Armani	Erdem	Erin Fetherston
Etro