Angelo Van Mol talks moon landings and 70s suits at Band of Outsiders

For Autumn Winter 2019, Band of Outsiders took us back to a time of exploration and new beginnings. Inspired by the 2018 Ryan Gosling hit ‘First Man’, creative director Angelo Van Mol delved deep into the mystery and excitement of the moon landings. Bringing the individual and collective experience together, the collection focused on breaking boundaries and finding new ideals and territories. “The collection is very much about the feel of the end of the 60’s and beginning of the 70’s”, the brand explained” the choice of colours and fabric embodies this: warm hues including spice orange, burgundy and olive brown are balanced with camel, navy and black.”

For the first collection featuring womenswear, Band of Outsiders are stepping forward this season into new realms. From the sleek corduroy suits to the matching prints, the collection embodies the era’s aesthetic –  “I am very excited to extend our universe of humour and inclusivity to women”, Angelo Van Mol explained. We caught up with the creative director to find out where the brand’s headed, and how he took it back to the sixties…

Where did you draw inspiration thing from this season?

I was so inspired by the late 60s early 70s era, the two piece suit with croquette jacket is I think the best example of that – the print is so reminiscent of that time. We used various combinations of fabrics and textures to draw you back to that moment in time, wool mixed with nylon – for the old and modern.

What was it about that time period that is so enticing to you? 

It’s the end of the sixties, it was a moment of change: student protests were prominent, science was moving forward, there was empowerment. For me it was the first time where people were showing their true selves, I think that is exactly what Band of Outsiders stands for: being all inclusive, being who you want to be.

Where did the moon landings come into it? 

That’s actually where this all started, I watched the movie Damien Chazelle’s The First Man. The first moon landing was in 1969, and I think that is what made me look back at this moment. I did research around that, I found all this information about freedom and individuality booming at this time, and that lead me in the direction we ended up. I was thinking about how these individuals who were all finding themselves felt when they saw the moon landing, it must have been overwhelming.

How did you physically bring this into the collection?

I think the essence of the moon and the wonder if it is in the collection. In some of the prints we featured newspaper articles from that week and space-age motifs.

Why did you choose to bring womenswear to the forefront this season?

I kept getting requests from female clients who already wore Band of Outsiders menswear, and I decided it was time to act upon that desire. We have a women’s designer in team and I mean our company is 70% women, so it was time we made clothes specifically for them! It was really fun to work together and create something fresh.

The collection is still unisex in a sense though, there’s a blend…

Definitely, we wanted it to feel complete and consistent. It’s the same family.

Check out Band of Outsiders online here and follow them on Instagram here.