Stone Island Shadow Project - AW 10/11 - Modular Down Vest - Category Augment

Just a wee addition to my collection. This vest can be worn on it`s own and as an inner lining for other shadow jackets. That`s very practical. This vest has been reissued this winter with minor changes but the 10/11 version is a bit nicer due to it`s yellow/mustard lining and a higher neck. Nothing really spectacular but this simple piece features some nice little stone island typical details.

Stone Island: Camouflage

Well, the good old camo pattern seems to be very "en vogue" this year, every dick & harry is releasing camouflage patterned clothing for spring/summer 2012. With a look on the A/W 12/13 collection of Stone Island it seems they would follow a trend. But Stone Island has never been a follower of trends and contemporary fashion and the camouflage pattern has quite a tradition in the history of this brand. If you take a look back on previous seasons there has always been a camouflage piece starting with the well known ICE Jacket from the late 80s.

                                             Stone Island ICE Jacket from the late 80`s (© FNYC)

As the most Stone Island collectors know, the brand always took inspiration from military design. So inevitably they also played around with the camouflage design as well in many different ways. It`s not everybody taste and I for example have only one favorite alongside all the camouflage releases by Stone Island. The handpainted camouflage jacket from A/W 08.

Handpainted Camouflage Jacket A/W 08 (© FNYC)

The next winter collection will feature a few different camouflage styles. The reflective camouflage jacket and a digital camouflage jacket for example, all in different colours and styles. The design of the new camouflage jackets remind me a bit of the camouflage patterns of battleships from the world war.

"When the Allied fleet came under constant submarine attacks Dazzle Camouflage was developed early during WWI by Norman Wilkinson when it was found that traditional camouflage failed to conceal ships in all weather conditions. Since at the time most ships were spotted with optical rangefinders, through which the viewer artillery and torpedoes can be targeted, the primary objectives of Dazzle was to visually disrupt and confuse the viewer as to the size, heading and speed of the ship. By using bold clashing patterns that intersected the lines of the ship it became hard to determine what type of ship you were looking at, how fast it was going and even if it was heading towards or away from you." (stimulacra blog)

Stone Island Showroom ( © Nitty Gritty)

As mentioned above, Stone Island will also release a digital camouflage piece (unfortunatly i can`t show a pic yet) and again, this isn`t just a gag. This modern kind of camouflage pattern is used on by the modern military forces. 

"Digital camouflage (or "digicam") uses small 'micropatterns', as opposed to traditional larger 'macropatterns' for effective disruption. The theory is that large blotches of colour with sharp outlines are easier to see, while "blurring" the edges of the coloured patches makes the outlines, and thus the objects, harder to discern. The name refers to the coordinates of the pattern, which are digitally defined, as well as the set of colours used.

From 1978 to the early 1980s, the American 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment stationed in Europe used a digital camouflage pattern, dual-tex, on its vehicles. During 1979 and 1980, the Australian Army experimented with dual-tex on its helicopters.

Battledress in digital camouflage patterns was first designed by the Canadian Forces. The CADPAT pattern bears similarities to the Bundeswehr's (Flecktarn). Many armies then adopted digital patterns. For example, in 2006 the South Korean Army adopted a digital camouflage pattern similar to the USMC's MARPAT for its Special Warfare Command units. The German, Danish, and Japanese military use camouflage that involves dots (flecktarn) instead of pixelated patterns. In 2007 the Kuwaiti army adopted digital camouflage in desert colours." (taken from wiki)

A jetfighter painted in digicam

A soldier dressed in digicam

The examples shown below are camouflage jackets released by Stone Island in the last seasons. Not always to everybody's taste of course but it shows, that the use of camouflage design has a small tradition at Stone Island.

A modern version of the Stone Island ICE camo

A tigerstripe camo pattern of the Stone Island Shadow range

German Sumpfmuster camouflage used on an A/W 07 piece (© FNYC)

Czech z.60 Jehlici camouflage used on an A/W99 piece (© FNYC)

Tigerstripe pattern - Stone Island Shadow

MA.STRUM - S/S 2010 - MA1020 - Quad Field Jacket

... also known as the Torch Jacket. This is one of the very first MA.STRUM jackets of their first summer range in 2010. MA.STRUM was born out of a collaboration and partnership between the designer Donrad Duncan and Massimo Osti Studio. This jacket has already been reissued in a different style, but the original one is still the best, that`s why i have always been looking for the first issue. 

It`s made out of a weatherproof material and came in two different colours, blue and green. The fabric is really amazing, if you look on it in the light you can recognize a slightly shimmer effect, which gives it a real precious look. The sense for details on this jacket is what makes it a "must have" for me. I love little surprises and gimmicks, like the logos on the badges glowing in the dark or the torch attached to the chest area. The torch is solar powered and gets charged through a  window of the little chest pocket where the torch is preserved.  

The whole design is pretty simple, a military inspired field jacket, based on the classic M-65 worn by the US Army in the 60s. But the modern fabric and a few nice details make it stand out from the typical military inspired field jackets you can buy from other brands. 

Being in their second year now, MA.STRUM seems to be that brand you like or you hate. I think you can see a lack of inspiration and a missing courage to develop something new. They come with some interesting colour concepts but are already repeating themselves when it comes to design, but never the less they are producing some future classic which might be sought after in the future, like the torch or the sniper jacket. I will always have an eye on their new releases, because i always find the one or the other piece i really admire and which is worth to be added to my collection.