AUTHOR

POSITION

TIME

LOCATION

SOUKITA

44.7232° N, 11.1018° E

04.03.26, 12:02PM

RAVARINO, IT

LOOKING BACK AT STONE ISLAND MARINA

LOOKING BACK AT STONE ISLAND MARINA

From early marine codes to present-day fabrication, Marina remains one of Stone Island’s clearest studies in utility as image.

Stone Island began in 1982 with Tela Stella. Developed by Massimo Osti from a heavy cotton canvas inspired by military tarpaulin, the fabric was resin-printed in contrasting colours and put through an extended wash. The result was rugged, weathered, and highly durable. It also established the brand early on: a focus on technical treatment, functional source materials, and garments that retained some trace of their origins.


That foundation was maritime from the start. The name “Stone Island,” drawn from the novels of Joseph Conrad and selected by Osti and his wife, Daniela Facchinato, brought in a world of navigation, distance, and protection. The compass badge, first seen on the inaugural Tela Stella jacket, gave that world a fixed symbol. Stone Island was never built through fabric alone. The fabric came with its own atmosphere.

01 Vogue L'Uomo, 1984.

01 Vogue L'Uomo, 1984.

02 Per Lui, Spring/Summer 1984

02 Per Lui, Spring/Summer 1984

Carlo Rivetti joined in 1983 and helped carry that foundation forward. First alongside Osti, then beyond him, he kept the brand centered on research, dyeing, function, and product development. As Stone Island grew, it did so without losing the experimental discipline that had shaped it at the start.


Stone Island Marina appeared that same year. It did not introduce a new idea so much as bring one part of the brand into sharper focus. What had already been there in the name, the badge, and the early outerwear became more direct through sailing jackets, striped knits, marine graphics, resistant shells, and hardware that felt drawn from deck clothing rather than added afterward. By Spring/Summer 1984, Marina had already established a distinct vocabulary through foldaway hoods, coated surfaces, and nautical insignia that remained central to the line.

"Our approach is closer to industrial design than fashion."

— Carlo Rivetti

Claudia Bergamini, Stone Island Garment Dyed Jacket Process, 2016.

Claudia Bergamini, Stone Island Garment Dyed Jacket Process, 2016.

Massimo Osti sailing his Swan 65, 1980

Massimo Osti sailing his Swan 65, 1980

From the beginning, Marina was more than a themed offshoot. It was built through construction. The line treated sailing as a practical system of weather protection, fastening, and visibility. That remained true in the Marina collections of the early 2010s, which moved through glow effects, graphic jerseys, outerwear, and lighter technical pieces without losing their marine identity. One of the clearest examples from that period is TELA_MARINA-R, which reworked Tela Stella through a more technical construction while keeping key Marina details in place, including a foldable hood, luminescent elements, and a glow-in-the-dark Marina print.

01 Per Lui, March 1987

02 Luminescent Jacket, 2022

01 Per Lui, March 1987

02 Luminescent Jacket, 2022

From the beginning, Marina was more than a themed offshoot. It was built through construction. The line treated sailing as a practical system of weather protection, fastening, and visibility. That remained true in the Marina collections of the early 2010s, which moved through glow effects, graphic jerseys, outerwear, and lighter technical pieces without losing their marine identity. One of the clearest examples from that period is TELA_MARINA-R, which reworked Tela Stella through a more technical construction while keeping key Marina details in place, including a foldable hood, luminescent elements, and a glow-in-the-dark Marina print.

Spring/Summer 2026 brings that history forward. The collection centers on a garment-dyed nylon-cotton sailing jacket with a foldable hood, rubber closures, and wooden pulls that recall Marina’s early years. A coach jacket in nylon-cotton panama weave uses double-dye recipes to bring out the texture and is treated for anti-drop performance, while a micro-brushed nylon hooded jacket adds a reflective Marina print at the lower back, a double-layer hood, and angled welt pockets.


The sailing jacket brings that continuity into focus. Its hood folds into the collar, the pockets use triangular flaps and rubberized button details, and the front closes with a two-way zip under a placket finished with snaps and rubberized closures. Marina remains true to its heritage, translating marine materials, fastenings, and functional design principles into clothing rather than using the sea as a stylistic mood.

Marina is not a marginal line within Stone Island’s history, but one of the clearest expressions of the brand’s long-standing approach to material, function, and technical construction. More than simply revisiting maritime imagery, it shows how deeply that vocabulary has been embedded in Stone Island from the beginning.