Some of the most sought-after bits on the vintage Stone Island market are cord shirts. Anything pre-1995, when Massimo Osti left, adorned with the beautiful green-lined badge will go for upwards of £700 – which puts it at the very high end of the collector’s scale.
People are divided over the pricing. About ten years ago, corduroy shirts would pop up on eBay every now and then for a fraction of the current price. Some people blame Drake. Musicians and their popularity are largely responsible for driving the prices of Stone Island up – but these guys, mostly, wear brand new. Others blame archivists for removing items from the market and controlling the supply; the more items locked away in cupboards, the less for sale, and therefore the more expensive the remaining bits are. It’s probably a combination of the two.
Anyway, the corduroy shirts were brilliant not just because Osti’s hand graced them, but because the colours were bold, the corduroy solid and the details excellent. All of that is maintained into the modern day, with John Anthony stocking 21’s corduroy shirt. And at half the price, too.
