Stone Island FW24 Pushes the Needle on Its Own Compass

Stone Island was among the freshest names on the Milan Fashion Week Men’s calendar this season. The Italian brand, founded in 1982, had never staged a show in the country’s fashion capital before this week. But on Friday evening, the future-minded label introduced a new manifesto to fashion’s glitterati for Fall/Winter 2024, titled “The Compass Inside.”

At La Cattedrale, Stone Island dropped a mammoth black curtain to reveal its next-season wares inside a gargantuan cage. Trapped, models stood still in their respective containers under changing lights for the duration of the show. With dedicated technical research, the brand’s key pieces were shown in multiples, demonstrating the label’s longstanding affinity for uniforms and the versatility of its core shapes.

Among them, the Metal Mesh PVD Nanotechnology Down Jacket possessed an illusory facade that mimicked liquid glass, made with two layers of organza and a strong nylon base. The nanotechnology was utilized to fuel the polyester organza with aluminum, to ensure that the metal would attract to the yarn for the optical effect. As usual, the brand’s signature compass motif appeared on the arm.

Then there was the Stone Island Ghost collection, which enlisted various wools to reimagine the brand’s classics. Among the standouts, military-inspired peacoats and single-breasted jackets were composed of heavy 95% wool and 5% cashmere, and both flashed the monochromatic “Ghost” tag on their left sleeves. Additionally, the line featured a hooded suede sheepskin jacket, which was treated with a PFC-free, anti-drop agent.

Two hooded coats and a parka employed polyester mesh for a see-through finish, as part of Stone Island’s experimental research. These pieces fell under the “Glass Cover-TC” moniker, for their liquid-like appearance, which was made possible through garment dyeing. Rounding out the lineup, the brand’s famous Nylon Metal textile supplied the bones for a light jacket and two bombers. The former silhouette operated with snap closures, while the latter coats were filled with PrimaLoft-TC for warmth.

Though the brand’s runway show was really more of a grand presentation, Stone Island’s Milan Fashion Week debut proved that, at the end of the day, it all comes down to design.

See Stone Island’s Fall/Winter 2024 collection in the gallery above, and stay tuned to Hypebeast for more Milan Fashion Week Men’s coverage.