Stone Island Leads
in Sports Luxury, Clothing
From
the touchlines to the terraces, an Italian clothing brand has woven itself into
football culture.
·
England
fans raided a clothing shop called Genius, seizing a treasure trove of Stone
Island apparel and bringing it home.
Stone
Island, renowned for its luxury and high-end style, has become one of the most
coveted labels among supporters, players, and managers alike. The brand’s
apparel is pricey, with hoodies costing up to £700 and jackets reaching £2000.
Manchester
City’s Pep Guardiola and former Brighton & Hove Albion head coach Roberto
De Zerbi are frequently seen wearing Stone Island,
proudly displaying the iconic badge on their left arm.
Rooted
in the 1980s, where fashion and football intersected, Stone Island quickly
gained prominence. As English clubs celebrated European success, fans sought
new experiences abroad, adopting diverse styles.
The
surge of hooliganism in the UK further propelled Stone Island’s popularity,
with expensive brands becoming favourites among ‘ultras’.
The
Athletic has explored how the tradition of ‘getting the badge in’ became deeply
ingrained in the game.
Stone
Island’s roots can be traced back to the vibrant Paninaro
movement of the 1980s, a subculture that began in Milan and spread across
Italy. Defined by a love for high-end fashion and luxury living, as it was
portrayed across the country’s media, it embodied a societal shift.
At
the forefront of this movement was Stone Island, founded in 1982 by designer
Massimo Osti. With its distinctive detachable badge
and innovative use of materials, the brand quickly gained recognition.
“He
(Otsi) gave the brand name Stone Island because he
was inspired by novels of Joseph Conrad about maritime exploration,” Stone
Island’s CEO, Robert Triefus, tells The Athletic.
“And so the badge that he gave as the symbol of Stone
Island was very much a badge inspired by that notion of a kind of exploration
and discovery.
“It’s
a very unusual brand that, when it was founded in the 1980s, the vision he had
was to make a great product that was using unusual materials and innovation in
material research. His very first collection was made of tarpaulin, a material
that had never really been used for clothing.
“Then,
with badges, they become symbolic. It’s a brand that is collected. I met a
gentleman as a client in Munich and he has 3,000 pieces. I said to him: ‘Wow,
you’re an amazing collector’. He said: ‘No, no, that’s my wardrobe’. And he’s
in his 50s.”
Stone
Island gained recognition from English football supporters travelling across
Europe.
Liverpool
fans, in particular, played a pioneering role in adopting continental European
fashions. They embraced these styles while journeying to matches during the
club’s triumphant UEFA Cup and European Cup campaigns in the 1970s and 80s.
“In
terms of football culture, they (fans) were wearing the brand to go to away
matches over their team’s shirts. So that became a moment in the history of the
company,” Triefus added.
“It
was a kind of a phenomenon that was linked to the product itself, but also what
the badge can represent in terms of self-reliance, confidence and so on.”
Fans
travelling to Europe began bringing Stone Island back to the UK, where it was
quickly adopted by the ‘casuals’ — hardcore football fans who dressed in
designer clothing and sportswear.
In
the early 1980s, British hooligans shifted from traditional club colours to
designer labels such as Stone Island, Burberry, CP Company and Lacoste, aiming
to intimidate rival supporters with their style. This trend, embracing
anonymity and high-end fashion, has been depicted in films such as Green Street
and The Football Factory, which both helped make Stone Island more mainstream.
Owning
Stone Island became a symbol of allegiance to supporting your team, with its
rarity and premium price enhancing its appeal.
One
reported event solidified Stone Island’s position in football folklore.
During
the 1992 European Championship in Sweden, known for incidents of looting and
rioting, an online myth has suggested England fans raided a clothing shop
called Genius, seizing a treasure trove of Stone Island apparel and bringing it
home.
Jason
Broom, a member of the England Supporters’ Club since 1991, remembers the
scenes.
“There
was a lot of looting, it wasn’t just the Genius shop. You’re going back 32
years. There was no social media. Where there was trouble, people were not
really encouraged to get their cameras out,” he said.
“You
had 10 per cent of people that went solely to create trouble and the other 90
per cent were happy to join in. When I was 22 years old, our train of thought
was a lot different to what they would be now.
“Security
wasn’t that tight there, so it was easy to loot and rampage. Shops were getting
ransacked. I imagine with Stone Island, it was
probably the quality of the clothing.
“They
do some nice clobber, it’s definitely engraved into football, it really is.
There’s probably no other walk of life where you’d see as much Stone Island as
you do at the football.”
Stone
Island started gaining attention in English stadiums, with hooligans and
musicians, notably the rock band Oasis, proudly displaying the iconic badge on
their left arm.
Its
rise has come with challenges. The brand’s association with hooliganism has
persisted, but Triefus contends that this was beyond
the company’s control.
“What
emerged with Stone Island at a certain point in its history in the 90s is not
uncommon with global brands generally. Brands tend to connect with culture in
different times and different ways,” he says.
“When
you connect with culture, that is something that is organic and it’s not
something you necessarily have control of.
“In
every community, there are good elements. Sometimes, however, there are bad
elements, but that’s culture, it’s constantly evolving and moving according to
trends and popular interests.
“The
notion of hooliganism is very much something that was specific to the 1990s. I
don’t think hooliganism is something that we associate with football today.”
Despite
its associations with hooliganism, football has embraced Stone Island over the
years.
Some
of the game’s biggest managers and players, including Erling
Haaland, have been seen wearing the brand. Notable
managers including former Barcelona head coach Xavi and Paris Saint-Germain
head coach Luis Enrique have sported Stone Island.
Interestingly,
many top-tier managers and players are often seen wearing Stone Island pieces
without the signature badge. Newcastle United midfielder Lewis Miley was
photographed in a Stone Island jumper without the badge when signing his latest
contract.
One
theory about the absence of badges is linked to advertising. For instance, City
signed a multi-year deal with Dsquared2 — a designer clothing company
originating from Canada but made in Italy — in 2016, potentially discouraging
the promotion of competing brands.
In
a number of televised interviews after matches, managers have been seen without
Stone Island clothing despite wearing it during games.
Aston
Villa’s Unai Emery wore a Stone Island gilet during a match against Newcastle
United in April 2023 but appeared without it in a subsequent interview on BBC’s
Match of the Day.
Similar
scenarios have unfolded with Guardiola, who wore a Stone Island jacket without
the badge during a game against Chelsea in September 2017 but removed it for
his post-match interview.
The
Athletic contacted City and Newcastle to ask for an explanation. Both refused
to comment on why the badge had been removed.
An
EFL manager, who wished to remain anonymous, revealed to The Athletic that he
removed his Stone Island badge during punditry appearances due to instructions
from the broadcasters, suggesting this was likely related to advertising
concerns.
The
BBC has a policy where any pre-booked guests are advised to avoid wearing
heavily branded clothing to prevent undue prominence of commercial brands.
Similarly, Sky follows compliance guidelines that prohibit broadcasting
clothing with prominent logos or branding, in accordance with governing
regulations. This policy applies uniformly across all brands featured on their
channels.
As
for post-match interviews, sources say managers face time constraints when
speaking with multiple broadcasters. Therefore, requests for clothing changes
are unlikely due to the limited timeframe. In cases where clothing becomes a
concern, camera operators can adjust the shot to avoid displaying any branding.
The
bond between Stone Island and football has become so intertwined, however, that
spotting players and managers donning the badge has become a noticeable trend.
On
X, an account called ‘Get the Badge In’ ranks images of individuals proudly
displaying their Stone Island emblem.
The
account showcases many football supporters, players, and managers clad in Stone
Island attire, with higher rankings awarded based on the prominence of the
badge in each photo.
Stone
Island has incorporated footballers into their branding initiatives.
In
2024, they unveiled ‘The Compass Inside’, a short film providing an insight
into Stone Island’s production process, with narration by UK rapper Dave and
featuring Chelsea’s Joao Felix.
Stone
Island collaborated with New Balance in 2022 to take the brand, as they said in
their launch, “onto the pitch for the first time”. Chelsea forward
Raheem Sterling was pictured modelling at the release of a new kit and football
boots, signalling the brand’s presence in the sport.
“Certainly,
we’re very happy that there are members of the football community who enjoy
wearing Stone Island and the storytelling that we do is with their
participation because they enjoy the brand,” Triefus
said.
“If
there are moments in time where it is natural for us to engage with someone in
the football community, then we will.
“Joao
Felix was more about the storytelling around the Compass Inside and he offered
to be part of that.”
Stone
Island’s legacy has had a long-lasting impact that will remain in the game for
years to come. It’s hard to imagine football without it.