Outlier's OG Pants in action
Abe Burmeister spent a year looking for a good pair of pants for biking in the city. "I wanted a pair of pants that I could ride in, work in and go out in without having to worry whether it was going to rain," he says. "After a year of looking I gave up. They weren't on the market, and I figured if no one was making them then it was up to me to figure out how. I went to the garment district, started asking questions and eventually wound up with a pair of pants."
After a friend connected him with Tyler Clemens, who had been working on similar ideas, Brooklyn's Outlier and the OG Pants were born. Three years later, Outlier's products have expanded from those first pants, which were designed to repel the weather and dirt of any bike commute and still look good in the office, to an entire line of functional, durable and fashionable clothing. Their latest collection is called In A Technical Nature and features everything from a Merino henley and wool peacoat to chinos, a scarf and button-down shirts.
Hit the jump for more on Outlier, including a photo gallery of their new collection.
Other than its expanded line of products, how has Outlier changed in three years? "Well, we're not working out of Tyler's living room anymore for one!" says Burmeister. "Insanely enough, we actually have employees and an office. And more importantly we know enough to make much better garments than we used to."
Just as they did with the OG Pants, Outlier has always aimed to create clothing that is truly innovative and unprecedented. "We like to make garments that do not exist yet on the market and fulfill a real need," Burmeister says. "We're always thinking about ways to make things better, making clothes that are more comfortable, more durable and better looking. Designing for us is an iterative process, we makes tests, experiment, produce samples, test them, tear them apart, build them back, test some more and repeat until we get to the point where we are happy. Sometimes it takes a day, sometimes it takes years, we just keep pushing until we find the solution."
For Outlier its also been about rejecting corner-cutting and disposable products:
"People need to start realizing that if they are buying the cheapest stuff, they are actually getting ripped off," Burmeister says. "The discount driven culture we live and shop in right now is toxic."
And it's not just about the quality of goods, but also the broader implications of our throw-away culture. "It's a downward cycle that leads to labor abuse, environmental damage and a world filled with shitty products," he says. "If we keep demanding disposable products we can't be surprised if suddenly our jobs are also disposable. The only way to break this cycle is to wake up and start looking for quality and buying meaningful goods that both work well and last a long time."
That driving philosophy has transformed Outlier from a single pair of pants into a full-fledged fashion brand. Burmeister acknowledges that starting up a clothing company isn't easy, but Outlier has proven that all of the hard work can pay off nicely. "It'll suck up all your free time and all your savings, but in the end it's amazing to make real products that people can relate to in the physical world," he says. "Plus, you get exactly the clothes you want."
Storm King Parka, Autumnweight 60/30 Chinos, North East Pivot Shirt and Merino Henley - photo by Emiliano Granado
Autumnweight 60/30 Chinos, Soft Core Wool Vest, Merino Henley and North East Pivot Shirt - photo by Emiliano Granado
Liberated Wool Peacoat and Autumnweight 60/30 Chinos - photo by Emiliano Granado
Liberated Wool Peacoat, Autumnweight 60/30 Chinos and North East Pivot Shirt - photo by Emiliano Granado
Merino Henley, North East Pivot Shirt and Autumnweight 60/30 Chinos - photo by Emiliano Granado
-- John Ruscher
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