West Coast Prep

Sternberg, left, prepares for a show of Band of Outsiders’ spring and summer lines for men and women during New York Fashion Week.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A striped shirtdress riffs on a man’s shirt. The Band of Outsiders label played with shape and volume throughout the women’s collection.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Jade Gotcher models a Band of Outsiders coat. The new women’s capsule collection Sternberg added this fall apes the look and feel of his men’s line.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Sternberg recalls getting a call from Barney’s wanting to see some women’s shirts. He agreed but said, “It’s going to be more than shirts and it’s going to be called Boy — as in boys’ clothes for girls.” Two months later, he had 20 pieces, including over-dyed oxford cloth shirts and slim-cut suits.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Models Anna Kazacova and Shupei Qin are prepped for a Band of Outsiders fashion show.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Sternberg designed a line of Topsiders for Sperry. The collaboration resulted in dressier boat shoes for men and women.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Snapshots of models and the clothes they will wear are used in the planning of the Band of Outsiders fashion show.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

NEW YORK, NEW YORK-Designer Scott Sternberg prepares for his upcoming show of Band of Outsiders spring/summer 2008 men and women’s line during New York Fashion week.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Sternberg says his goal is to create a sense of nostalgia through clothes the way a filmmaker might when creating a historical mood.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Sternberg shuns the traditional runway show. “It can’t be some tall girls clippity-clopping down the runway. That’s not what my clothes are about. I’ll find a way to show the clothes but in a way that’s wack and different.”  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

A cotton gabardine short suit with layered cotton batiste shirts. Suits in corduroy and wool are also in the line.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

Cashmere knit ties and clip-on bow ties are part of the Band of Outsiders line.  (Carolyn Cole / LAT)

For his Chelsea Piers show, Sternberg created a nostalgic scene with Wes Anderson-worthy attention to detail. With neckties hanging from fishnets and board games strewn about, one got the feeling that the kids had stolen daddy’s yacht and headed for Havana.  (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)