STONE ISLAND OPENS NAPLES FLAGSHIP WITH DOCUMENTARY DEBUT

## 592 Square Feet of Industrial Precision Stone Island's first flagship store in Naples opened Thursday in Palazzo Fusco on central Via Filangieri. Spanning 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. 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. There are currently 95 Stone Island flagships globally. "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. ## The Resina Connection Titled "'A Sorpres," Neapolitan for "by surprise," the documentary has a soundtrack by Liberato, the Neapolitan musician of unknown identity. "The film tells the story of the relationship between Naples and the brand, reflecting the Stone Island community as a whole," Kitson said. The film's main focus is Resina, a sprawling vintage market just south of the city, known for its "passionate" vendors and abundance of low-cost, high-quality clothing. 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. 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. ## Cultural Currency 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. "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." In Glenn Kitson's new short film, 'A Sorpres, viewers are taken inside a Neapolitan collector's warehouse. 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. One of them, named Nello, is shown delicately pulling a piece from its hanger, cradling it with reverence as if it were a holy, centuries-old relic. "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." ## Moncler's Italian Strategy In 2020, Moncler acquired 70 percent of Sportswear Company SpA, owner of the Stone Island brand, before taking full control of the firm the following year. The Naples flagship represents Stone Island's continued expansion into cultural capitals where the brand maintains underground credibility. Naples hosts the opening of Stone Island's first boutique, but the celebration of this special relationship with the city continues at Fondazione Morra with the documentary "'A SORPRES" directed by Glenn Kitson and narrated by Roberto Saviano. The opening positions Stone Island strategically in a city where compass badges have been currency for three decades. The documentary arrives as validation that Naples never needed official retail to make Stone Island essential.