Scott Sternberg referenced a few ideas for fall. For one, there was Los Angeles-based artist Brian Sharp, whose abstract artwork draws on geometric forms and primary colors; another was Seventies-era Perry Ellis.
“I had a very pure, Americana sort of approach,” the designer said during a phone call from L.A. “This idea of purity with a little bit of elegance, and that led me to Perry…somebody I had never really looked at before. It was this soft approach to bringing men’s into women’s wear.”
In particular, Sternberg looked at the exaggerated details of Ellis’s collections — the oversize proportions of the tailored coats, the big buttons and waist belts — as well as his prints and patterns. Those influences were reinterpreted in a few of Sternberg’s strong outerwear options, like the ones done in a gray wool-felt blend and rabbit fur, both with oversize belts covered in the same fabrics. “Those [belts] can feel old and costumey, but by integrating it into the garment, we made it really fresh and modern,” Sternberg said. He was right.
Preppy touches throughout the lineup — including “flying diamond” abstract argyle sweaters and striped knits — were directly inspired by the work of Sharp. Together with Sternberg’s signature, tailored suiting — one look in a funky Seventies plaid — the collection came together chicly, equal parts bookish and tomboyish.