From the touchlines to the terraces, an Italian clothing brand has woven itself into football culture.
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.
Liverpool fans started adopting designer clothing at matches (Peter Robinson/EMPICS via Getty Images)
“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.
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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.
Stone Island was being worn by celebrities such as Noel Gallagher of Oasis (John Ferguson/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
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.”
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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.
Haaland wearing a Stone Island hoodie (Alex Gottschalk/DeFodi Images via Getty Images)
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.
✍️ We are delighted to announce that Lewis Miley has signed a new long-term contract!
Congratulations, @LewisMiley1! 🙌 pic.twitter.com/Gytdr7IVAG
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) January 29, 2024
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.
(Ian Kington/AFP via Getty Images)
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.
Deano wanting to make a big first impression at Palace.
What better way to announce yourself than a double #badgein.
Club captain within a week guaranteed.
9.9/10. pic.twitter.com/bY2Q5p6yVb
— Get the Badge In (@badge_is_in) September 16, 2023
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.
(Top photos: Getty Images; design by Dan Goldfarb)
