LONDON — Stone Island is obsessed with creating technical materials that are whimsically wonky: parkas made of steel and bronze mesh, winter wear with Kevlar threads, and thermo-sensitive jackets that change color with the weather.
Released Monday on YouTube, the Italian brand’s new feature-length film, “Infinite Colours,” reveals the methods behind the brand’s madness.
A still from the film.
Courtesy of Stone Island / GIJS SPIERINGS
It features interviews with employees, some of whom have worked at the company for more than 30 years, and reveals that people — not necessarily the processes — are what make the label stand out.
“The film is a tribute to our people, men and women who dedicated their entire work life to researching and pushing boundaries in order to achieve outstanding product,” said Carlo Rivetti, Stone Island’s chairman. “People growing up and living in a small village in Emilia [Romagna, Italy], building a brand that resonates in the world.”
The film highlights Stone Island’s debut collection in 1982, which used only Tela Stella, a cotton canvas coated in pigmented resin, and its intricate dyeing processes.
Ken-Tonio Yamamoto, pictured, directed the film and has worked with Stone Island for over fifteen years.
Courtesy of GIJS SPIERINGS
Ahead of its release, the film was screened in Milan, Los Angeles and London. At Islington’s Screen on the Green, current and graduated Central Saint Martins design students packed in for a showing of the film cohosted by the education and design platform 1Granary.
“As opposed to other fashion documentaries, it’s not about just one designer and one genius behind everything,” Ken-Tonio Yamamoto, the film’s director, said ahead of the London screening.
“Hopefully, you’ll see in the film that it takes a village to do something that is as spectacular as Stone Island,” he continued.
A still from the film.
Courtesy of GIJS SPIERINGS
The film’s release comes as the label ramps up its direct-to-consumer presence. The brand, owned by Moncler Group, opened new outposts in Shanghai and Ningbo as well as in Harrods in August and made its retail debut in Macau in September.
