‘Our archive is fundamental to the brand, but we do not see it as something static or nostalgic,’ says Robert Triefus, Stone Island’s CEO, as the cult technical-wear brand unveils its first formal collaboration with the independent collectors ‘who have helped preserve, interpret and shape the brand over [the past] four decades’.
Titled ‘Selected Works ’982–’026 Stone Island: The Collector Series’, the project will unfold at Selfridges Corner Shop, the London department store’s ephemeral ground-floor space that has previously featured pop-ups from the likes of Celine, Loewe and Prada, among others. Open for six weeks, the space will feature pieces from Stone Island’s ‘living archive’, but also host some of its most dedicated collectors: among them Maher, Better Gift Shop, ’bout, 194 Local, Louis Holsgrove, Metallic Curtain, Pezze and SimJae, who will curate their own selections as well as participate in events across the month.
‘The project is an evolution of Selected Works, through which we have previously explored the Stone Island archive in different cities and cultural contexts,’ says Triefus. ‘For Selfridges, we wanted to develop that idea further by bringing our own archive into dialogue with the independent collectors who have preserved, studied and interpreted Stone Island over many years.
‘For the first time, selected pieces from collectors’ personal archives will be available to purchase,’ he continues. ‘Their provenance and individual histories are an important part of their value. The result is not simply a retrospective or a pop-up store, but a meeting point between archive, current product, commerce and culture [as well as] between Stone Island and the community that has grown around it.’
To conceive the space, Stone Island drafted Willo Perron, Wallpaper’s Designer of the Year at the Wallpaper* Design Awards 2026. The Montreal-born designer said he wanted the Corner Shop space to feel ‘intentionally temporary, modular and adaptable’ – a reflection of the idea of a ‘living archive’. Inspiration came from military and base camps that can be ‘rapidly deployed, using structures and systems that can be assembled, moved and reconfigured as needed’, as Perron explains. ‘That logic felt very connected to Stone Island, where function, utility and material experimentation have always been so present.’
He also describes the space as an ‘active build’, reflecting the changing programme of collectors who will inhabit the space. ‘The “active build” is really about allowing the environment to evolve over the course of the installation,’ he says. ‘Fixtures can move, and displays can be reconfigured as the collectors and pieces change. The temporary and modular nature of the space allows it to continually shift throughout the six weeks.’
In the Corner Shop space, which can be viewed from Oxford Street through hazy, translucent windows, moments of industrial design – like a series of metal display stands on castor wheels and modular shelving units – meet tent-like structures and digital display screens. ‘Materiality and hardware are central to the design,’ says Perron. ‘Stone Island has always been defined by its experimentation with materials, finishes and processes, so we wanted that language to carry through into the space. The way the materials, hardware and fixtures come together is really what defines the space.’
‘Willo has a very particular ability to create environments that are conceptually precise but still feel immediate and experiential,’ adds Triefus. ‘What interested us was his understanding that this should not feel like a conventional installation or retail space. [Instead it’s] a flexible system of soft structures, modular components, metal fixtures and digital elements that can be reconfigured as the collectors and garments change.’
For his part, Perron says he understands the appeal of being a Stone Island collector: growing up in the late 1980s and early 1990s, he remembers being ‘obsessed’ with images of British raves, where Stone Island was the unofficial uniform. ‘I was always drawn to it visually, but equally to how important it was culturally. That’s really what translates into the space: recognising the people and culture around the brand, and putting that history alongside what Stone Island is doing today.’
‘Stone Island has always been shaped not only by the garments we create, but by the people who find meaning in them,’ adds Triefus. ‘Different communities have adopted the brand in different places and in very different ways, often independently of anything we could have orchestrated ourselves.
‘Their knowledge complements our formal archive and sometimes allows us to look at our own history through a different lens,’ he continues. ‘It is important that the relationship remains reciprocal and that we do not just absorb collector culture into the brand. This project gives collectors genuine authorship and a platform to present their own perspectives – fot me, that is entirely consistent with our belief in community as a form of research.’
‘Selected Works ’982–’26 Stone Island: The Collector Series’ runs until 6 November 2026 at Selfridges Corner Shop. For a full schedule of cultural programming, visit Stone Island’s website.