Stone Island Sneakers? Go on Then
Few brands have the pulling power of Stone Island. A mere glimpse of a compass badge can send many of the Italian label’s loyalists into absolute raptures — that’s not even mentioning the sight of a badge with a thin green line around the outside. But that’s for another time.
Such is the lure of Stone Island, its sneaker program for Fall/Winter 2022 is likely to be pretty sought-after, and on first impressions, rightly so.
Of late, Stone Island footwear has been limited to collaborations with New Balance, but this time around the Massimo Osti-founded outfit is going it alone, delivering a myriad of sneakers under three inspiration guises: football, rock, and grime.
The former is inspired by evergreen football styles and celebrates Stone Island’s philosophy of monochromatic color and material blends, with a metallic ripstop nylon upper, which is combined with polished and soft suede leathers.
The second style — inspired by classic rock — is a low-cut mixture of 70s retro sneakers, with the lace tips referring to Stone Island’s iconic black metal trims.
The debossed compass logos, artisanal topstitches, and premium gum rubber outsole have also been designed to celebrate the brand’s UK rock music community.
Rounding things out is a sneaker that takes inspiration from silhouettes celebrated by UK’s Grime culture, with Stone Island cues like the molded rubber tongue, and the artisanal stitched nylon fabric.
The uppers are combined with premium rubberised leather, a reinforced molded military toe cap, and a tactical articulated outsole for good measure.
Stone Island's footwear might not yet be its strongest arm just yet, but if these early signs into a deeper foray into the world of sneakers is anything to go by, that could swiftly change. Think: at least they didn't put a badge on it.
