Latest

Supreme/Stone Island SS16

I daren’t go on instagram and check what people are saying about this. There are 42 year old lads out there acting like self-appointed guardians of the compass patch who I don’t doubt will have serious issues with this.

Lads, it’s not for you. Supreme and Stone Island don’t see you as sitting comfortably in their demographic. It’s not that they think you’re a dick, they just don’t dig the bedspread casual scene. Plus, why should they be fussed when this will sell out and be on eBay at a mad markup within hours? It’ll sell out, but it’s not selling out the brand. It’s 2016.

My tuppence worth is this… I love that it exists, but it’s not for me either. I appreciate it but don’t feel the need to be partizan about it. I like the stripey sweats (a lot) but they’ll probably cost me lots of money/my long term relationship. For now, I’m happy to look at the pictures and avoid instagram.

supreme stone island supreme stone island2 supreme stone island3 supreme stone island4 supreme stone island5 supreme stone island6 supreme stone island7 supreme stone island8 supreme stone island9 supreme stone island10 supreme stone island11 supreme stone island12 supreme stone island13 supreme stone island14 supreme stone island15 supreme stone island16 supreme stone island17 supreme stone island18 supreme stone island19

Mark Smith

I had pizza for tea.

9 Comments

  1. Mark Smith

    Erudite as fuck, that.

    I know what you’re saying, but essentially the article here was like most we write. An unserious throwaway stream of consciousness which aims to entertain the educated and educate the entertained. Or something.

    Have the clocks gone forward yet?

  2. okay, nobody likes the self-appointed guardians of the compass patch (‘the experts’ retain a sound and fury that echoes round the empty football stadium of their dreams) and I understand the need for a pre-emptive criticism – you can almost hear the seething spluttering rage “oi! Stone Island NO! “What is this shit, I’m not buying that” so what you’re saying makes sense in its way. But you’re dealing just with the cultural aspect here based on generational and sub-cultural social identities (aye we’ve all read a bit of Stuart Hall at the Birmingham school).

    Which brings us to the demographic you’re talking about. As a generational clash, if it’s a stoneyfreaks/supreme freaks stand-off then you’re saying these clothes are aimed squarely at the supreme kids? In terms of the business model, the key element to this relationship is the Supreme logo. (Hey north face give us a wave). It opens up a new world to potential buyers of the SI range. It’s a marketing strategy by both brands which will of course pay dividends in terms of brand awareness, increasing profit potential and broadening out their core appeal.

    Just as an aside, “Supreme and Stone Island don’t see you as sitting comfortably in their demographic” is a really weird sentence. It reads like – these two clothes labels working together to make expensive clothes are not making them for the likes of you. I bet back in the day the guardians of the Osti empire who looked down upon the original football casuals, those grubby english working class kids, as they offered up a really fucking expensive piece of cut material to their chosen demographic and said in the same dismissive tone ‘lads, this is not for you’.

    Which goes back to my original question who are they making the clothes for?

    The cultural aspect of what SI means or what supreme means is a necessary part of the selling process. (Proper are part of that process too, but in a good way). Create desirability by creating a social function and cultural engagement which in itself demands brand loyalty. (It could be argued the old football casuals actually created the modern social function of SI but that’s a different argument for a different day).

    What I’m trying to say is in effect is the bedspread casual scene annoying and mildly irritating as it is, they are simply employing the same brand loyalty (in their criticism of this collaboration) that the supreme kids are employing by sweeping up anything and everything released with the supreme logo on it.

    But underlying feature in all of this is the requirement of available cash to act as a filter system between what makes the brand/range desirable and/or aspirational. That essentially is what it boils down to – money. Kudos based on financial disposability and accessibility which finds its best expression in the display of labels to others in your defined social group.

    Anyway i’ve decided the two schools of thought:
    1. it just clothes
    2. it’s architecture for the body

    are defined by how much beer you’ve already had to drink. Me, i just wish i could afford to buy any of this stuff.

  3. The Mac’s are pretty cool, the stripey tops are nice, I like the buckets but the branding and the rest of it is utter shit! It’s someone in Carlo’s design group telling him that this was a great idea. In the first collection they(Jebbia and Supreme) got a BELTING jacket to reissue, the heli visor, this is now the 3rd collaboration, or should I say abomination. There was once a well known well respected CP/SI website that app SI of the past that tried and tried to get a collaboration done and just got ignored now they throwing themselves at a hype to gain market share it’s SPW’s 13 pieces of silver.

  4. Neil Summers

    I’m pretty sure they don’t want to ditch any of their clientele.

  5. Mark Smith

    If you were Stone Island would you want Weekend Daduals wearing it for trips to the zoo? Or would you want the new generation putting it on?

    If people had this attitude when it started appearing on the terraces in the 80s you’d all have been dressing like your parents.

  6. terry farley

    They are truly hideous of course CP / SI wants to ditch its long term and loyal cliental for a younger richer market but at least do it with class .

  7. Mark Smith

    Posh kids who want to dress like poor kids?

    Live and let live. Everything is appropriated from elsewhere.

  8. serious question: who is the demographic this is aimed at? I mean who is it for?

    – people with money, serious disposable income, that’s it.

Write A Comment