BAND OF OUTSIDERS TO RE-LAUNCH ITS MENSWEAR AGAIN WITH YET ANOTHER NEW SET OF DESIGNERS

Band of Outsiders
by Stephen Garner

Band of OutsidersForget what you heard last season, the designers that brought Los Angeles cool-kid brand Band of Outsiders back from the dead for its spring/summer 2017 collection have left the company. Now, the label has appointed a new design team to lead it into next year. The newly appointed team will present their new autumn/winter 2017 collection in private buyer and press appointments during the menswear fashion weeks in Paris and New York. New retail prices will range from $85 for T-shirts to $1500 for premium pieces.

The brand was founded in 2003 in L.A. and quickly gained a cult following. Retailing in 225 stockists worldwide including Barneys, Bergdorf Goodman, Saks, Colette and Net a Porter the brand extended itself and opened flagship stores in NYC and Tokyo. Following investment and support from CLCC a financial rescue plan for the brand was needed and developed but rejected by the brand’s founder. CLCC later went on to purchase Band of Outsiders at public auction to save its iconic heritage and took time testing design teams to work out how to take the brand forwards in a way that felt appropriate to the DNA set up by its founder.

This re-launch sees the brand return to its much-loved west coast, preppy-with-a-twist DNA and will be steered by a creative team rather than resting on the shoulders of a sole designer. Among the newly appointed team are Savile Row trained designer Angelo Van Mol, who graduated from the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Brand Director Daniel Hettmann, whose experience across the industry includes casting for brands such as Macys, working with designers such as L.A. based 69us and show production for Vetements, in close collaboration with Antony Verbaeys,  Managing Director of CLCC. A newly appointed stylist is to be announced alongside creative collaborations with artists, designers, social activists and inspiring individuals – coming full circle back to the brand being truly a ‘band of outsiders’.