Stone Island banned: the hooligan fashion

In the early 2000s, Stone Island transitioned from an icon of Italian sportswear to a symbol of British hooligans, to the point of being banned from certain pubs and clubs.

Stone Island: when a fashion brand found itself banned from certain British establishments

In the early 2000s, Stone Island, an Italian brand recognized for its textile innovations and military aesthetic, found itself at the center of a controversy in the United Kingdom. Not for issues of style or quality, but because its logo became associated with a culture deemed undesirable by many public places: that of hooligans.

Avant-garde beginnings

Founded in 1982 by Massimo Osti, Stone Island distinguished itself from its origins with an experimental approach. Osti, often referred to as the “godfather of Italian sportswear,” conducted extensive research on dyes, fabric treatments, and technical fibers. The famous Tela Stella, a double-faced fabric inspired by military truck tarpaulins, gave birth to the brand's first jackets.
Very quickly, the compass rose patch sewn on the left sleeve became an immediately recognizable signature, both a mark of technicality and an identity symbol. In 1983, he entrusted the reins of the brand to Carlo Rivetti, who is still the artistic director today. He definitively acquired the brand in the mid-90s.

From Italian Fashion to British Stands

In the 1990s, Stone Island stepped out of its circle of enthusiasts to attract an unexpected clientele: British football supporters. These "casuals" took care of their appearance and adopted imported, expensive, and exclusive brands as a way to display status and belonging without wearing their club's colors.
Stone Island then became a visual code. In the stadiums, the badge transformed into a recognition symbol among insiders, sometimes even being used as a rallying flag by violent groups.

2002: the Ban in Certain Clubs and Pubs

At the turn of the 2000s, the British press began to point fingers at the brand. In several articles, Stone Island is described as "the uniform of hooligans." Some pubs, nightclubs, and private clubs then established strict dress codes: from 2002 onwards, many reports indicated that entry was refused to those wearing the badge.
This was not a legal ban, but a local practice intended to reduce the risks of fights by preventing access to groups perceived as dangerous. As Graduate Store explains, the brand had become "an imposed and claimed uniform," crystallizing fears related to hooliganism.

A reputation that sticks

This association has lasting marked the image of Stone Island in the United Kingdom. For years, the brand has suffered from an ambivalent reputation: an innovative and cutting-edge label in Italy, but stigmatized in English culture as a symbol of violent terraces. Burberry experienced a similar phenomenon, to the point of completely overhauling its communication strategy in the 2000s to shed this image.

From Shadows to International Recognition

Despite this controversial reputation, Stone Island has never stopped innovating and appealing beyond football. Its collaborations with Supreme and Nike, its adoption by rappers and artists, as well as its acquisition by the Moncler group in 2020, have contributed to repositioning the brand on the international stage.
Today, Stone Island is embraced as much by fashion enthusiasts as by celebrities like Drake or Travis Scott. While its name remains linked to British football culture, the era when a badge sewn onto the sleeve could close the doors of a pub is now a thing of the past.