Stone Island x Harris Tweed

A new collaboration between techwear innovators and the centuries-old Scottish fabric mill weaves the old and new

Stone Island is a brand founded on the principal of technical innovation. Since 1982, when it was established in Ravarino, Italy, it has led the way in techwear with its groundbreaking research into fibres and textiles – the ceaseless experimentation leading to several iconic innovations, such as the celebrated and now much-imitated otherworldly reflective jackets with glass microspheres.

“Research, experimentation and treatments on materials applied to innovative and functional designs define Stone Island,” the long standing creative director of the brand, Carlo Rivetti, told Port in 2015. “Our approach is closer to industrial design than fashion, starting from the way our garments are conceived as design items. We do not belong to technical outerwear, or activewear, or fashion. We design and use our technical knowhow to make everyday clothing that looks good and performs if needed.”

It’s precisely that creative freedom that has led to Stone Island’s latest collaboration with Harris Tweed. A spiritual antecedent to Stone Island, Harris Tweed is the formal name given to a tweed cloth that has been woven for centuries in the homes of islanders of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland, and it is the original technical fabric – warm but breathable, hard-wearing and sustainable. 

Just as with the tweed, the old and the new is woven through the new jacket. A detachable inner – onto which are sown chest pockets in the iconic Stone Island Polymorphic Ice material – is covered with a specially-developed purple Harris Tweed outer; zips in the Tweed allow the pockets to be pulled through and fastened onto the front of the coat. These are then complimented by a detachable hood also in Polymorphic Ice, a cotton base with a heat-sensitive coating that changes colour as the temperature drops. 

The special collaboration went on sale Thursday 25th October and, like the special drops before it, is set to become a treasured collector’s item among Stone Island’s loyal fanbase

stoneisland.co.uk