How do you follow a previous-season “fashion show” that saw a model locked in the window display of a Paris gallery for three days straight, armed with little more than some arts and crafts, a good book or two, a rack full of cool clothes, and (by the end of it all) a precious few remaining shreds of sanity? (More on that one here.)
Stage a sprawling, and stylish, scavenger hunt through the concrete jungle of New York City, of course. At least that was the solution Scott Sternberg, the Ohio-bred, LA-based designer of Band of Outsiders dreamt up. Models/contestants Miles Garber and Matt Hitt were pitted against each other, fed riddle-like clues (hence the confidential-looking manila envelopes above), and released upon the Big Apple to locate iconic landmarks and complete comical tasks.
They did it all while outfitted in next season’s Band of Outsiders collection, which Sternberg has described as uniforms for a utopian civilization of his own imagining—one in which businessmen, athletes and construction workers seem to cross paths regularly, within the same outfit or even the same garment. If the day these guys had is any indication, B of O’s Fall ’13 clothes are ready for pretty much anything. Read on for highlights from Sternberg’s alternate-reality version of a runway show.
Ground control. The scavenger hunt was masterminded via this moving HQ on the back of a truck.
Don’t hate the players. Miles (L) and Matt, clearly psyched to let the games begin.
Tools of the trade. Per the game’s official rules, after a 7:30am wake-up call, the contestants’ mobile devices were confiscated in exchange for one (1) pair of clean undies.
Luckily, they were given more than tighty-whities. Here, with the score even at zero apiece, the contestants are decked out in the first of many Band of Outsiders Fall ’13 kits.
Scavenger-hunt challenges throughout the day included building Lego self-portraits…
…Strumming for change at Herald Square Station…Utilizing the Dewey decimal system to track down Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions at the NY Public Library…
…Powering up with custom, co-branded cookies at Momofuku Milk Bar…
…Posing with Tumblr intern Tommy the Pomeranian…
…Tying a bow tie with none other than GQ Creative Director Jim Moore checking the technique…
…Delivering a burger to frequent Band of Outsiders collaborator Aziz Ansari (that’s him wearing B of O with Sarah Silverman on the left)…
…And re-enacting a classic scene from Woody Allen’s Manhattan. (Whew.)
A few glimpses of the Fall ’13 wares, including a 2D globe-print T-shirt (a collaboration with artist Sam Durant), a subway-inspired tie, and a traditional Black Watch tartan shirt—with a signature Band of Outsiders twist. View the full looks here.
Sternberg (in custom-designed coveralls) with Ansari (looks like his bow-tying technique passes muster as well) at the after-party.
SHOP THE CURRENT COLLECTION: BAND OF OUTSIDERS
…And view the complete Fall ’13 slideshow at Style.com.
[Photos courtesy of @ThisIsBandOfOutsiders on Instagram, except final Sternberg/Ansari pic by Instagram user @dmc_dmc. Individuals pictured do not endorse Nordstrom.]
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