BEHIND THE BRAND: BAND OF OUTSIDERS

May 10, 2011

In 2008, Mr Sternberg won the Council of Fashion Designers of America's emerging menswear designer award, and a year later he was awarded the top menswear prize. Last year, Band of Outsiders moved into a new 7,000 square foot headquarters in Los Angeles. Notable fans of the label include Mr Mark Ronson, Mr Kanye West and Mr Josh Brolin

This double-breasted blazer is unlined and loosely structured making it perfect for summer. The sleeves however, are lined with a high-quality cupro rayon. The jacket is made in Italy from a linen-cotton blend, and is fully stitched, not fused or glued. The close fit is characteristic of Band of Outsiders' neat and contemporary aesthetic.

Epaulettes, a button tab on the back, and ornately-designed gold buttons give the blazer a stylish military look. Inside there are two pockets, while the front of the jacket has three flap pockets and one chest pocket. The buttonhole on the notch lapel is perfect for wearing a decorative flower or pin.

Whether blazers are of military or sporting origin is a disputed piece of sartorial history (some maintain that they are named after jackets worn by the crew of the battleship HMS Blazer, others that the modern blazer is derived from 19th-century sports jackets), but the naval influence on this jacket is undeniable, bringing to mind traditional officers' attire.

Blazer by Band of Outsiders

Photography by Mr Will Thom | Words by Mr Peter Henderson

"We're sort of putting out a new version of what a guy with style looks like. It's masculine, it's kind of nerdy, and it offers something ephemeral that guys can make a connection to"

Mr Scott Sternberg, founder and creative director, Band of Outsiders

When Mr Sternberg struggled to find a shirt that he liked to wear for his job at a prominent talent agency in Los Angeles, he created his own, making the fabric softer and the fit closer but less rigid than that of existing dress shirts. Mr Sternberg's clients began to take note, and soon started requesting the shirt themselves, with the actor Mr Jason Schwartzman among the first. From there, Band of Outsiders was born, and in 2004 Mr Sternberg quit his job to focus on the label, which has since become a byword for modern classics, inspired by nostalgic Americana but consistently updated with offbeat twists. Named after Mr Jean-Luc Godard's film Bande à part, Band of Outsiders values the nerdy and the obscure (the label's New York offices are in an old fortune cookie factory, which retains the original sign and store front), but it's Mr Sternberg's win at the 2009 Council of Fashion Designers of America awards that demonstrates the label's serious style credentials.

and how to wear it

THE BLAZER

Brooklyn-based actor Mr Jon Paul models the Band of Outsiders' double-breasted blazer, which can be dressed down with jeans just as easily as it can be dressed up with tailored trousers