NEW YORK, United States — Over the weekend, Band of Outsiders’ Scott Sternberg put on a lovely low-key show for his two women’s collections —Boy and Girl — underneath The Highline on New York’s West side. But earlier this summer he pulled out all the stops for a spectacular West Side Story-themed show for his Spring/Summer 2012 menswear collection as a special guest designer at the 80th edition of Pitti Uomo in Florence, Italy.

Sternberg’s star has been rising in international fashion circles, despite his having no formal fashion training; despite his decision to base his business in Los Angeles, far from the fashion mainstream; and despite price points that position his collection closer to high-end European brands than the surfeit of lookalike American contemporary brands which also call Los Angeles home.

I caught up with Scott at the gorgeous Villa Cora hotel the day after his Pitti show to understand the thinking behind these strategic decisions and learn more about his plans for the future of Band of Outsiders.

“I’m not saying that I’m never going to do a fashion show again. I’m not saying fashion film is the future. It’s just an idea…and it’s nice to have the option to do both.”

Avant-garde designer Gareth Pugh speaking to BoF founder Imran Amed in Florence, Italy at Pitti Immagine, where he projected a critically acclaimed fashion film on the ceiling of a 14th century church. On Wednesday in Paris, Mr. Pugh will present his A/W 2011 collection in a fashion show, his first since March 2010.

“Blogs posting things about us, going viral, spreading throughout the internet… it has an extraordinary impact on the business.”

Proenza Schouler’s Jack McCollough, speaking to BoF Founder Imran Amed at the Independent Fashion Bloggers Conference at New York Fashion Week during a wide-ranging conversation about the power and influence of social media on their budding business

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“The key to my success in Japan has been the sheer love and enthusiasm of going there…I was immediately willing to go two, three, four times a year. I had to understand how it was all working…immersing myself in the Japanese way.”

Paul Smith, speaking to the UKTI about how to do good business in Japan, where Mr. Smith has built a retail network of more than 200 stores, now constituting the lion’s share of a global business with estimated annual sales of more than £300 million