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

Stone Island - 30th Anniversary

The first post in the new year features some really great news! We celebrate the birthday of my personal favorite italian sportswear brand, Stone Island. Carlo Rivetti has prepared something really special for the connoisseurs of his and of course  Massimo Osti`s work.  In this video he shows us a few pieces we can expect to be released in 2012:

Carlo Rivetti reveals the projects of the Stone Island 30th anniversary. from Stone Island on Vimeo.

My absolute favorite is the Tela Stella jacket, the first jacket shown in this video. It`s a remake of one of the first Stone Island jackets ever made. It seems to be an exact copy of the original Tela Stella jacket apart from the anniversary badge. If you you want to learn more about the history of Stone Island and the first season check out this article, written by Jamie, a well known collector of the Osti Archive Forum.

He also provided some of the following pictures,showing the first jackets ever made by Stone Island.

This is the A/W 82/83 Tela Stella Jacket, which will be reissued by Stone Island this year.

(copyright by Stone Island)

This is a picture of an original colour chart from 1982, it is still in the factory in Bologna these days. Hopefully the new version of the Tela Stella Jacket comes in all six colours.

(copyright by Jamie -IDP- )

The next pictures are pics from Jamie`s amazing collection of vintage and contemporary Stone Island and C.P. Company jackets. They show some of the first jackets ever produced by Stone Island, Season Autumn/Winter 1982/1983.

Stone Island (Shadow Project) S/S 2009 - Magneto Tylon-R Jacket

 

The Shadow Project is a more experimental platform of Stone Island. This project began in 2008, together with the designers Michaela Sachenbacher and Errolson Hugh, both known for their own Label ACRONYM®. The strength of the Shadow project is its eagerness to go new ways in design and functionality.  New fabrics, clever little details and a whole new understanding of contemporary clothing design coupled with a view into the future.

The Shadow Magneto is a great example for the philosophy of the shadow project. Made of a weather and wind resistant fabric in a lovely burnt orange colour with a nice shimmer effect, this jacket also features a nice little clue: The whole left side of the jacket can be opened and you will find a second layer with 3 extra pockets and a hidden black shadow badge for the more understated look. The fastener to close the first layer and to hide the details is magnet, which snaps up perfectly if you pull the little extra zip up. A really clever and smooth solution and little highlight for every fan of unusual and functional design. This is possibly the best SI piece i ever purchased in terms of design and functionality and colour. This jacket came in blue, green, black and as shown above a burnt orange, which is the pick of the bunch in my opinion. All with a slight shimmer effect to make it really stand out. And as always, no picture can describe it as it really is. 

Stone Island - A/W 2008/2009 - Handpainted Camouflage Field Jacket

                                             

Stone Island always took inspiration from military design, especially when it comes to jackets. The field jacket is probably the most common jacket design in Stone Island`s history. There have been plenty different variations and in the autumn/winter season 2008/2009 Stone Island released something special: the handpainted camouflage field jacket, inspired by a german army field blouse. This jackets are each painted by hand, which makes every jacket in this range unique. You can even see the brush strokes if you take a closer look. This makes the jackets standing out from usual camouflage jacket from the army shop. Not only this, you can also see a love for detail and function at the collar for example, where is a movable piece of garment to close the neck on the front. The jacket comes with the well known Raso Gommato lining, not very breathable but really warm in the colder winter days, especially together with inner removable extra liner.

These jackets came in two colours, brown (as seen above) and green, i prefer the brown version and i think the green version is harder to come by. You dont even see the brown version pop up very often, i reckon these jackets came in a limited nuber. In the last pic you can see the comparison between both jackets.

Stone Island - A/W 11/12 - ICE Jacket

I was sure i want to have this piece of art, when i`ve seen the first leaked pictures of this jacket in january/february this year. It`s a very nice quote of the 1999 ICE jacket Stone Island has done back in the days and its almost the same design. Very oldschool, very vintage looking and a design reminding of the good old days when Massimo Osti was designing the first ICE jackets. 

As you can see above this is a two tone jacket, consisting of two different materials. The yellow thermo coating, which changes its colour when the temperature drops (at about 10 degrees celsius) and a shimmer material on the back. This design has a historical background. Back in the days, when Osti was producing the first ICE jackets, the special colour changing thermo fabric was so expensive that it wasnt possible to use it for a whole jacket without asking for a stupid price for it. It`s a nice touch in my eyes and the two different colours go well together. When the jacket changes its colour to dark brown it almost matches with the fabric on the back.

The 2011/2011 field ICE jacket comes with "dutch rope" inner jacket to keep the owner warm and comfortable during the colder winter days. Again a very nice detail to underline the oldschool feeling of this piece.

The jacket comes also in blue and khaki, but yellow is the pick of the bunch in my opinion. Nothing beats a good contrast. 

Carlo Rivetti (CEO of Stone Island) wearing the `99 version

Stone Island - A/W 11/12 - Videos

R&D VIDEO: 5515 STONE ISLAND ICE JACKET AW’011’012 from Stone Island on Vimeo.

R&D video: 5515 Stone Island__Hydrophobic_AW'011'012 from Stone Island on Vimeo.

R&D video: 5515 Stone Island__Liquid Reflective Jacket_AW'011'012 from Stone Island on Vimeo.

Inside Stone Island - Episode 4: The sum of all things

Episode 4: The sum of all things from Stone Island on Vimeo.

Stone Island Shadow Fall/Winter 2011 – An Introduction by Designer Errolson Hugh

5519_Stone Island Shadow Project_AW '011-'012: An Introduction by designer Errolson Hugh from Stone Island on Vimeo.

Welcome to the future!

Stone Island Spring/Summer 2009 Multipocket Tyvek

Das Stone Island gerne mit neuen oder ungewöhnlichen Materialien experimentiert, macht die Faszination dieser Marke aus. In der Frühling und Sommerkollektion 2009 brachte Stone Island daher mal wieder was ungewöhnliches auf den Markt. Eine Feldjacke aus dem Material Tyvek, dazu gibt es folgende Informationen im Netz:

Tyvek ein papiervliesartiges Faserfunktionstextil aus thermisch verschweißten Fasern aus Polyethylen hoher Dichte (HDPE). Es wird als dauerhaftes "synthetisches Papier" in der Verpackungs- und Bürobedarfs-Industrie und als Material für Schutzkleidung in der Reinraumtechnologie, im Operationssaal und der Spurensicherung verwendet. Tyvek ist eine Marke der Firma DuPont. Ein ähnliches Endlos-Faser-Vlies aus Polypropylen, das als Teppichrücken und als Geotextil Anwendung findet, ist Typar der Fa. DuPont.

Tyvek verhält sich von seiner Verformbarkeit her etwa wie Papier, ist dabei aber strapazierfähiger. Als Material für Schutzkleidung ist es deshalb geeignet, weil Tyvek einerseits selbst nur sehr wenige Fasern verliert, andererseits durch das Vlies nahezu keine vom Körper abgeschiedenen Zellen aus dem Anzug heraustreten können. So können sterile Arbeitsbedingungen, wie sie in oben genannten Arbeitsbereichen benötigt werden, aufrechterhalten werden.

Stone Island hat es wunderbar verstanden mit diesem Material zu experimentieren und eine sehr schöne Jacke aus dem Material geschaffen, die auch noch in sehr schönen Farbvarianten veröffentlicht wurde. Wie schon auf den Fotos zu sehen, einmal in einem bräunlichen Ton mit einem leichten goldenen Schimmer im Sonnenlicht (Bark), in einem sehr schönen Hellgrün (Lime), in Weiss, in Grau und in dunkel Blau. Gerade die grüne ist aufgrund der gelungenen Färbung ein echter Hingucker. Ich bin mal gespannt, als wie robust sich das Material im Laufe der Zeit erweist. Die Jacke auf den Fotos ist übrigends ein Pressesample, die leichte aber kaum auffällige Abweichungen von der endgültigen Version aufweist. Aber gerade als seltener Prototyp umso reizvoller. Eine Jacke ganz in der Tradition eines Massimo Osti, der immer das Neue und Fortschrittliche zu schätzen wusste.

Stone Island A/W 011/012 Season Preview

This is sneak Prewiev for the upcoming Autumn/Winter Season of Stone Island with some words from Carlo Rivetti, the mastermind of Stone Island. You can also see some preview pics at the Flickr account of Eleven Shop and Endclothing. The yellow ICE is the pick of the bunch for me and already on pre-order. Looks simply stunning and reminds me to the pieces of the early years of Stone Island.

Stone Island Spring/Summer 2010 Nylar_K Parka

This Stone Island flagship piece from Spring/Summer 2010 is made out of nylon and aramidic fibre, a very technical looking garment, which you can see on my pics. It`s very comfortable to wear and a perfect lightweight summer parka. The fabric should be water and windproof but i hadn`t the chance to test it yet. After a long search i finally managed to get my hands on a Stone Island parka. This summer piece looks really nice, it seems to be green, but also black. If you get a closer look, you can discover the interesting looking garment with small yellow dots woven into it. That makes a plain parker very unique and special, a typical Stone Island dying technique and the use of uncommon fabrics. A perfect addition to the collection.

Stone Island - Spring/Summer 2011 - Heat Reactive Jacket

Another Highlite of this Season is the Stone Island Heat Reactive Jacket. Similar to the ICE jacket, the fabric of this Jacket changes its colour when the temperature changes. Not when the temperature falls (like the ICE jacket does), but when the temperature rises. The label says at 27 degrees celsius, but even when you touch the fabric, wich is described as cotton nylon canvas with thermosensitive liquid crystals, the colour starts to change. The same happens when the sun hits the surface of the jacket. You can see the colour change pefectly in the video below, wich features the green version of this jacket. And yes, the colour change is really that fast like shown in the video.

This jacket comes in 3 different "colours". Well, 3 different colours it changes to. Blue, green and yellow. It`s a very thin and light jacket, perfect for the summer months and it also has some kind of ventilation system on the back because of a clever way of tailoring. So no need to sweat in that jacket. I can see this to become the most worn jacket in the upcoming months, again a typical quality Stone Island piece, with a stunning feature!

43499 HEAT REACTIVE JACKET from Stone Island on Vimeo.