Brands to Know: Stone Island
Despite the current weather, believe it or not winter is coming, and staying warm and waterproof is key to surviving through the winter quarter. Though campus is dominated by the jacket favorites, TNF, Canada Goose, and Moncler, there's one Italian brand that will keep you bundled up and looking good through the cold: Stone Island.
Largely unknown in the U.S., Stone Island is an integral part of the streetwear scenes in Italy, France, and especially the U.K., where the brand is revered with a cult-like following. Stone Island originally began to gain traction in the fashion community with the Paninaro group in Italy, a sub culture of youth who were inspired by 50s era style mixed with European designer labels.
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Soon after the gear was picked up by British football hooligans in a spirit of one-upmanship, flaunting the label to impress over their rivals on other teams. Eventually Stone Island broke its way into various U.K. subcultures, and especially into the rave scene of the early 90s.
Recently the Grime scene in London has adopted the iconic compass arm patch as their unifying logo, which provides a sense of unity and organization to the underground music scene, and has reinforced the brand's image as rebellious and mysterious.
However, the reason that so many fashion icons across the globe sport the iconic compass is not because of hype, but because of the sheer quality and craftsmanship that goes into every Stone Island piece. Since the early 80s, Stone Island has always been an innovator in the fashion industry.
Even before North Face, Stone Island was incorporating tech fabrics such as goretex into their designs. They use some of the most unique and durable fabrics in the world, from the weather and wind-resistant 3l composite fabric in their down jackets, to their thermo-sensitive color changing jackets–which were made a feature in their collaboration with Supreme earlier this year.
Stone Island is dedicated to research and evolution, with laboratories located in Italy developing new fabrics and a guarantee that every new runway show and collection will include a material never before seen in the fashion industry.
