Band of Outsiders lays off staff, cancels fall orders

In a move that nearly caused an earthquake throughout the fashion industry, Band of Outsiders has laid off the majority of their staff and has cancelled all their fall wholesale orders. Reports from sources including fashionista.com and WWD have said that the brand might be folding entirely, but, no one has been able to confirm or deny this. Sternberg, the founder of the brand, has refused to confirm or deny either way saying, "Nobody knows anything at this point but me, and I have been advised not to comment at this time."

After ten years of being a popular men's and women's contemporary brand, many are sad to think that Band of Outsiders might be put to rest for good. Despite the layoffs, fans should notice that their location in New York City in Soho remains open, so, that could be a small glimmer of hope. When Sternberg decided to headquarter his company in Los Angeles he became one of the strongest design voices in Los Angeles.

Band of Outsiders might be folding

His brand became known as the label that was preppy-with-a-twist. They originally began as a men's shirt and tie company that was quickly picked up by Barney's. In 2007 they began doing women's wear, and in 2008 they were nominated for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.

Their unique take on preppy was not enough to bring in the revenue to keep them as strong as they would hope, however. The layoffs and cancellation of the fall orders were due to the brand being low on funds. Back in 2010, the brand was doing sales of 12 million dollars, and Sternberg was attempting to put a plan in place to help the brand's revenue grow.

He had planned to being offering items at a wider variety of price points, and he even opened the brand's first standalone store in Tokyo, which was followed by a store in New York. While things might look grim now, Reps for Band of Outsiders have also declined to comment on what is happening with the brand, so, it's a very up in arms situation. The industry is anxiously standing by waiting for Sternberg to announce the future of his brand.