OMA/AMO rethinks Stone Island retail identity

OMA / AMO has partnered with Stone Island to develop a new identity for the Italian brand’s stores. Positioned as spaces to share its wealth of experiences with its communities, Stone Island has defined the new stores through its research and experimentation on design and product manipulation. 

The new store concept features altar-like spaces highlighting Stone Island’s devotion to technology and development, shared by its followers. Niches for archival pieces and prototypes – results of years of experimentation in Stone Island’s lab in their Ravarino headquarters – showcase past thinking and future ambitions about product design. Beyond shop opening hours, the space will host public presentations, salons, workshops, and private events. The stores form a base for current and new customers, complementing the brand’s online presence.

Stone Island’s approach in transforming materials from typical into unique inspires and informs the new stores’ architecture. The stone-like palette of the spaces is formed with specially treated off-the-shelf materials – without actual concrete or stone. Shredded paper and resins are compressed under high pressure to become durable “concrete panels”. Cork – the central material to the Stone Island stores – is burnt, sandblasted and coated, turning dark and textured, while maintaining its sound-absorbing, humidity-controlling features. Corrugated steel panels, sand-coated, acquire a soft surface. A large digital chandelier, suspended from the ceiling, broadcasts Stone Island’s culture to its community.

Stone Island Creative Director and President Carlo Rivett stated that, “Stone Island and AMO share values of innovation, functionality, and passion. I am very happy to begin this important partnership, a new visual approach for our stores, to speak to our communities.” AMO Director Samir Bantal added that, “Research and innovation are at the core of Stone Island. The space, materiality, and program of the stores underpin the brand’s ethos, and reinforce a sense of belonging of its community of like-minded people.”

The new concept debuted within a new, 1,900 square foot retail space for Stone Island in Chicago which opened on Thursday, October 20, 2022, ahead of the future opening of locations in Seoul, Munich and Stockholm. Located at 48 E. Oak St, the location is the brand’s first in the city.