The (entire)world according to Scott Sternberg.
Plus astronomy night in Silver Lake, a chic new poke shop, and the shirt of the summer.
Happy hump day, everyone. If you’re not already on vacation, you’re almost there. I’ll be on the beach in Laguna on Friday, assiduously avoiding screens. On Saturday, I’ll be at a barbecue in Highland Park. There’s still time to sign up for the east side singles roundup if you haven’t already — don’t sleep on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
The (entire)world according to Scott Sternberg.
Though LA isn’t always considered a true fashion city, east side fashion has an outsize impact on national trends. For better or for worse, what’s east side fashion one day is American fashion a few months down the line. This is partially because east siders are…cool, and partially because a not insignificant portion of east siders have platforms that enable influencing.
There’s a difference, though, between the many well-dressed people who amplify east side perspectives and the few who actually beget them. It’s relatively easy to recognize good clothes; it’s harder to write the rules.
As far as east side arbiters go, one man stands above the rest. Scott Sternberg is the creative force behind not one but two of the twenty-first century’s cult-favorite brands (and the broader paradigm shifts they engendered). With Band of Outsiders, Scott remade mens fashion with a novel take on the preppy aesthetic, emphasizing sharp tailoring, slim fits, and skinny ties. With Entireworld, he revolutionized everyday essentials, offering consumers affordably-priced elevated basics (and top-tier sweatsuits for the pandemic) before that term was groan-inducing.
Scott’s brands have spawned countless copycats and markedly shifted the trajectory of American fashion. He’s also a longtime Silver Laker, a Speranza regular, and the guy one very dialed-in Rag reader swore “nobody dresses cooler” than.
Last week, I met Scott (in head-to-toe Entireworld, plus a great pair of Prada Collapses) at Lamill to discuss his genre-defining labels, his favorite east side spots, and — maybe, just maybe — his return to fashion.
You broke out with Band of Outsiders, which cultivated an extremely cultish following. Was that intentional from the beginning?
I had no grand plan. I had been an agent at CAA, and then I worked with a couple of entrepreneurs — one of whom had started J.Crew with her dad — for a year. I had an idea that I wanted to do something, but I didn’t know what it was. All I knew was that I wanted to create a fashion brand that didn’t feel like a fashion brand. European brands at the time all looked the same, their advertising was the same. They were all promoting an aspirational life that I didn’t aspire to.
I love cinema, and I love Los Angeles. I love the lore and mythology of LA, I love artists like John Baldessari and writers like Nathanael West. There was this whole feeling that I wanted to put into a clothing brand. And that’s all I was thinking about. In retrospect, having done that a long time ago, and having created another brand since, I think having something so intensely idiosyncratic and personal — it’s not necessarily going to create a cult brand, but it’s the only path to it.
When I help out independent brands, I’m always like, “Figure out what your freak flag is and fly it as high as possible.” I think that specificity is what magnetizes everybody else’s inner freak, and that rabidness — the “Oh, that guy sees me” — that’s the cult.
Early on, you became known for your Polaroid ads with people like Donald Glover, Andrew Garfield, and Michelle Williams. It was advertising that didn’t feel like advertising. How did those come about?
It was a paradigm shift, but I didn’t know I was doing that. It was quite pragmatic — at the time, you could buy Polaroid film at Rite Aid, and it wasn’t expensive. It’s what you use in the fashion industry for castings, for looks, for everything. I studied photography in college, and I just needed to shoot stuff. I found a vintage Polaroid, and I thought the overall vibe of that camera captured the vibe of the brand. The first guys I shot were this guy Bobby Martin in New York, a kid I met at a coffee shop on Beverly, Mike Donohue, and my buddy John. And then Jason Schwartzman was in my apartment, which was my studio, and he was trying stuff on and looking through my DVD collection. And I was like, I should shoot Jason for my next thing.
Celebrity endorsements weren’t really a thing yet in high fashion, but I just started asking people if they wanted to do it. The ask was pretty low — it was me, Nicole Cari, who used to work as my producer and art director, and maybe one other person on set. We were always on location, there was no lighting setup for the most part, so it moved like this [snaps fingers]. It was an easy lift. And it became mutually advantageous, because they got a lot of press — a lot of online press, when that was still a thing.
How is working in LA different from other fashion cities? Do you consider LA a fashion city?
It’s not a fashion city. There’s not really a fashion community here. American fashion is in an odd place right now. When Band of Outsiders was coming up, from about 2007 through 2014, New York Fashion Week was lit. Marc Jacobs was showing on calendar — he had this big, amazing show that was so globally directional. Thom Browne was coming up, I was coming up, Rodarte was coming up…it was just a thing, you know? Now it’s pretty subdued. And LA, it’s not really a fashion town. It’s an apparel town. But that’s the nature of the city outside the film industry — it’s a diaspora. It’s such a big place, and that’s what I need. I’m always working on the fringe; it’s my nature to be a bit iconoclastic and question the rules. And it’s much easier to do that with space. There’s space here to have a perspective.
How has the landscape changed in the years you’ve been here?
From a retail perspective, it’s way more anemic than it’s ever been. What Fred Segal and Ron Herman were on Melrose cannot be understated. This was an amazing little pocket of retail that did millions of dollars of business and was part of the mythology of LA. When I was an agent at CAA, you’d have lunch at Mauro’s, and then you’d go shop and spend so much money. They used to break down and totally remerchandise the store every six weeks. It’s a totally different scene now, it’s smaller.
From an overall cultural perspective, LA is LA. It kind of doesn’t change, in a way. Every four to seven years a New York publication will make some big statement about how LA is back, or LA is over, but from my experience, it’s pretty steady.
Is there room for another Fred Segal-type retail destination in town, or is the world too online now?
Generally, things are cyclical. I don’t think anybody’s necessarily all that happy with our little at-home lives right now. So I think the experience just needs to be tweaked. I don’t know totally what the answer is, but I know I want to go to places. And I do — I love Departamento, I love Mohawk, I love Scout on Melrose. You know, just look at the ridiculous line at Maru, the restaurant culture…you would think there’s a spot for it.
What brands are you excited about right now?
You know, I’m not the best person to ask, because I have such a strange vantage point. I mean, I’m wearing Entireworld, right? I’m wearing all stuff of my own…
And Prada.
Oh, yeah, these Prada shoes are sick. I like Auralee, the Japanese brand. It’s great. The big luxury brands are not doing a thing for me. I think they’re after a different prize. Fashion’s fun though — it’s like a cornucopia of ideas all the time, so it’s fun to just sort of watch. But I don’t want to buy much.
You’ve done two brands, do you think you have another one in you?
Unfortunately.
Are you working on one?
Maybe.
Is there anything you can share on that front?
Hmmm…not yet. [Laughs]
Your top three places on the east side are…
I eat at Speranza on Hyperion two nights a week when I’m in town. It’s a great spot — simple food, easy vibe. Mohawk for shopping. I think Kevin does an amazing job, it’s a great store, and I love the guys who work at the shop. And then Look Cinemas in Glendale. I don’t know how they stay in business, it’s this random tiny movie theatre. They have the La-Z-Boys, they bring food to you, and it’s never busy. I bring my dog and he sits on the seat next to me, and we just chill and watch movies.
What’s something you would pay any amount of money for?
World peace.
What current trend can you get behind?
I feel like we’re kind of post-trend, in a way. Everything’s just a fad. As of last week, Haim was all over the internet putting out an album. I couldn’t look anywhere without seeing them, and all of a sudden they’ve disappeared and made way for Lorde.
What’s worth going west of La Brea for?
Sushi Park, I’m going tonight. Chateau…fun vibe, not the best food. Tower Bar. Friends on the west side. And my dentist…so hot.
In your opinion, who’s the coolest east sider?
I’ll call out my dear friend Clare Crespo. She’s an if you know you know old-school east sider. She’s been everything from a music video producer in the ‘90s to a food artist to the host of a kids show. She’s a true artist, and the coolest there is.
🍽️ And now for some table scraps…
Noma is coming to LA. The world’s most famous restaurant (feel free to argue with me here) is bringing its three Michelin stars to a pop-up in LA next year. Details are scant, and there’s no word on where in the city it’ll be, but I’ll keep everyone posted as things unfold. Just pray it’s not in Santa Monica.
The owners of Bodega Park (re)opened a poke shop next door. Bodega Park has some of my favorite sandwiches in the city. Ohana Superette looks extremely promising on the poke front. Ohana actually opened back in 2015, but shut down during the pandemic. After a few years of dormancy, it’s back in business. As an added benefit, the space looks sick.
If you live on the east side, there’s a good chance you’re into astrology. But what about astronomy? Now’s your chance to learn a new skill. Star Party is happening tomorrow, 6/3 at the Sunset Triangle Plaza in Silver Lake. In addition to telescopes for celestial viewing, there’ll be live jazz, an ice cream truck, and screenings by Tiny Cinema. Someone said Star Party is “more interesting than going to a bar,” and I kind of believe them.
Some west side-coded news for the east side media set — Scooter Braun stepped down as CEO of HYBE America. It feels like Scooter’s taking a page out of the David Geffen playbook. He built a business, made some enemies, and got out. Life from now on will be party, yacht, party, yacht, party, mansion, yacht.
Every third guy in Los Angeles has the same mustache. If you’re wondering if you, too, could pull one off, the answer is probably yes.
The co-showrunner of The Last of Us is out ahead of season three. Variety is calling Neil Druckmann’s exit a shocker, but did anyone like season two? I don’t watch, but from everything I’ve heard…this might have been the biggest mid-season viewership drop of all time.
Virgil Village’s Melody Wine Bar – and its truly perfect patio – will be closing this month. For the better part of a decade, Melody’s been a go-to spot for first dates, group drinks, and great wine. It’s a cool neighborhood spot, and it’s also responsible for incubating many of the east side’s favorite dining concepts (including Echo Park’s Little Fish). I went here a lot in my early LA days, and I’ll miss it. You should go before it closes for good on 7/12.
Paramount will pay Trump $16mm to settle his 60 Minutes lawsuit and pave the way for the Skydance merger. A payment otherwise known as….a bribe.
Here’s another reason to go to the Vista. AMC Theatres will now be airing commercials ahead of its movies. Not trailers. Commercials.
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: tenniscore is selling. Brooks Brothers just launched a capsule collection with Prince.
Park’s Finest in Echo Park will “ruin all other barbecue for you.”
East siders are loving Mfpen. I’ve seen a bunch of people (but not too many!) wearing the Danish brand recently. They have great shirting for summer, and I’m into the pleated shorts. This is the shirt I want to wear to Barra Santos, and this is the shirt I want to wear unbuttoned on the beach.
And here’s a two-bedroom house in Los Feliz for $599k. This place needs a lot of work, and it’s on a busy stretch of Hyperion, but….you’ll never find a place this affordable again. And it could be so charming? Am I crazy?
Happy long weekend, everyone. See you Monday <3
This is the only substack I will read without any pictures…
great interview! I asked readers last month about the indie brands they miss most - and band of outsiders came up a handful of times 🫶