STONE ISLAND OPENS FIRST NAPLES FLAGSHIP WITH RESINA DOCUMENTARY

## The Flagship Opens In Historic Palazzo Fusco 592 square feet. Burned cork walls. Perforated steel fixtures. Stone Island's first Naples flagship spans 592 square feet, the unit follows the OMA/AMO-designed Stone Island retail blueprint of industrial tactility with burned, sandblasted and coated cork used throughout the layout, flanked by perforated steel walls, stainless-steel and glass display tables, as well as enameled steel rails and racks in fiery red. The brand's first flagship in the city is located within Palazzo Fusco, on central Via Filangieri. The location puts Stone Island at the center of Naples' luxury shopping district, where Via Filangieri has been the backbone of Neapolitan retail for over a century. There are currently 95 Stone Island flagships globally. Naples adds strategic weight to Stone Island's Italian market presence. "Naples holds a unique cultural energy that aligns naturally with our brand. This new flagship strengthens our presence in Italy and creates a new space for our community to engage with Stone Island's research culture," said Robert Triefus, president and chief executive officer of Stone Island. ## Documentary Chronicles Three Decades Of Collecting Titled "'A Sorpres," Neapolitan for "by surprise," the documentary has a soundtrack by Liberato, the Neapolitan musician of unknown identity. Glenn Kitson directed the five minute film that captures Naples' obsession with vintage Stone Island pieces. It's a serious business: the venue is the result of "15 years of archiving", and is run by a group of vendors from Naples' nearby Resina market. The documentary features collectors who have turned Stone Island hunting into an art form. Stone Island fans from Naples appear in the documentary sharing their memories, including Gennaro Boccia of Naples-based vintage dealer Pezze Vintage; Alessio Malinconico of street food spot Salumeria Malinconico, who recalls skipping school to thrift for the brand's pieces at Resina, and Alfredo Formisano of the namesake vintage spot, who has collected the brand for more than 30 years. Collectors, thrilled at the prospect of stumbling across the brand's beloved golden badge in the bales, quickly began to frequent the market, skipping school or work after hearing tip-offs about big shipments. This is not casual thrifting. This is archaeology. ## Resina Market Built Stone Island's Naples Following The market was born during World War Two, back when American troops were occupying southern Italy. The surplus stock in their local military supply houses soon became highly coveted by Neapolitan locals, who became obsessed with the soldiers' clothes. The foundation was durability. The appeal lay in the quality – these were "indestructible" pieces made from durable fabrics, built to weather the most extreme conditions. As the years went on, Stone Island – particularly pieces from the early 80s and 90s, with their clear visual nods to workwear and the military – began to appear more and more in Resina's vintage pezze (piles). The brand's military aesthetic matched the market's DNA perfectly. "It blew our minds because in Naples you couldn't find Stone Island," says Alessio Malinconico, a local chef at Salumeria Malinconico. "There was no official store." For decades, Resina was the only way to access the brand in Naples. ## Industrial Tactility Meets Neapolitan Street Culture "It makes sense, the love for Stone Island in Naples, as it's a working-class city, has its own street culture and street style," says Kitson. "It's a tough city, and that's the kind of stuff people want to wear there." A range of custom designed pieces pepper the space, including aluminum light fixtures by Tim Hooijmans of De Studio, stools by Tim Teven and a leather and steel chair by Markus Töll of Supersedia. Every fixture speaks to Stone Island's materials obsession. The brand is already ubiquitous in Naples, with the signature logo speeding past on the arms and heads of countless moped drivers. The flagship formalizes what has been organic for thirty years. Stone Island built its Naples following through Resina's vintage piles, not marketing campaigns. Now they are betting that street credibility translates to retail success in Palazzo Fusco's 592 square feet.