Stone Island Prototype Research_Series 09 Collection, AIR-BLOWN LAMINATION ON KNIT, A LIMITED EDITION OF 100 PIECES IN 100 DIFFERENT COLOURS PRODUCT
The Stone Island Prototype Research_Series are limited editions by design. They feature garments in fabrics and treatments born from research and experimentation processes that have not yet been industrialized. With Prototype Research_Series 09, the brand continues to push the boundaries of fabrication with another pioneering development in garment building technology, air-blown lamination knit. For the first time in its history, Stone Island uses knitwear as the subject of Prototype Research. A pioneering application technology builds on Stone Island’s tradition of recontextualizing knitwear as outerwear.
A reversible cotton chenille hooded cardigan, serves as the departure point for this project. Each garment in this series comes in a different colour; a total of 100 hues – 1 per garment – from vibrant to muted tones and mélange shades, were developed for this project, making each product truly unique. A waterproof and breathable membrane is bonded through a 3D process to the knit layer of the garment using cutting-edge lamination technology – the first of its kind on a garment. The finished chenille cardigan is placed on an inflatable mannequin, with the performative HDry® membrane positioned directly beneath it. The mannequin is then inflated with hot air, ensuring perfect adhesion of the membrane to the knit. Due to the uniqueness of the process, as the membrane bonds with the knit layer it creates slight surface irregularities, further adding to the singularity of each garment. The membrane’s extreme thinness renders all knit construction elements, colour, and texture highly visible, fully retaining the three-dimensional character of the chenille yarn. Prototype Research_Series 09 features zippered pockets on the laminate side and kangaroo pockets on the knit side. Each zipper opening is cut by hand after the membrane’s application, in line with the brand’s ethos of uniting artisanal and industrial practices.
The Stone Island Prototype Research_Series 09 will be presented through a dedicated installation by Ken-Tonio Yamamoto at Milan Fashion Week on January 17th 2026, followed by two Open to The Public days, on January 18th and 19th, from 10am to 6pm, at Stone Island Tortona in via Tortona 31, Milan. Stone Island Prototype Research_Series 09 will be available for purchase, following the installation, in select Stone Island stores, at a price of €1.000,00.
ABOUT PROTOTYPE RESEARCH, A STONE ISLAND RESEARCH & EXPERIMENTATION PROJECT, Started in 2016, the Stone Island Prototype Research_Series are limited editions by design. They feature garments in fabrics and treatments born from research and experimentation processes that have not yet been industrialized, representing the pure essence of Stone Island in its relentless pursuit of innovation.
PREVIOUS SERIES:
STONE ISLAND PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 08_MULTIAXIAL PROJECT_2024. Applying advanced industrial techniques from the automotive sector, the process involves the creation of a multiaxial linen textile base, subsequent needle cohesion to a non-woven fabric veil, state-of-the-art inkjet printing with pigments, and double lamination of an aliphatic polyurethane film. The 100 capes, once layered together, recompose into a large fresco. The cape design can evolve into a tent, inspired by the Stone Island 1982 archive.
PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 07_LIQUID CRYSTAL HEAT REACTIVE_2023. Series 07 unveils a special thermochromic technology: the nylon canvas fabric, coated with helical-shaped cholesteric liquid crystals ink, reacts revealing a vast spectrum of chromatic points. The liquid crystals distributed on the fabric trigger a molecular reactive color change system evident in the metamorphosis that enters the shades of yellow and green to then flow into the blues.
PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 06_DÉVORÉ WITH KEVLAR® CORE_2022. Made in a textured weave fabric with the use of a 100% DuPont™ Kevlar® Nm200/l core yarn double covered with Nm170/2 cotton yarn. The dévoré printing technique disintegrates the cotton yarn, creating an all-over pattern that reveals the Kevlar® core. The unveiled yarns create a sort of light technical lace. Kevlar® is a trademark of affiliates of DuPont de Nemours, Inc. and used under license by Stone Island.
PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 05_ COPPER NANOTECHNOLOGY ON RASO: THE UNFILTERED STORY OF AN “UNFINISHED” RESEARCH PROCESS_2021. Made in cotton Raso bonded externally with a light non-woven fabric on which a nanometric copper layer has been deposited through the PVD (Physical Vapor Deposition) technique. It’s an investigation about the natural oxidation characteristics of copper in the atmospheric environment, borrowing this technique from industrial uses.
PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 04_MANUAL FLOCKING ON NYLON METAL GRID-OVD_2019. Made in Nylon Metal sprayed with a water-based adhesive and then exposed to cotton flock. The electromagnetic field straightens the fibrils, which are attracted by the garment. It then undergoes an elaborate double dyeing procedure, nylon and cotton, for a highly contrasting effect between texture and flock: unique and unrepeatable on each garment.
PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 03_EXTREME COMPACTING PROCESS ON NYLON BASE_2018. A mix of 4 polyamide-based canvas fabrics with different weights, compositions and shrinkages. The sewing pattern of the garment is engineered to cope with drops from 0% to 25% due to the complex dyeing process at high temperatures of the finished garment.
PROTOTYPE REASEARCH_SERIES 02_GARMENT DYED DYNEEMA®_2017. Made in Dyneema®, the strongest and most durable lightweight fibre in the world. Stone Island has engineered a ready-to-dye version by bonding it to an exclusive performance membrane with an ultra-light nylon tela backing. The seams are entirely sealed by hand with Dyneema® re-enforced tape. Reversible garment. Two sets of 50 jackets, garment dyed with 50 colour recipes in the STONE ISLAND Colour Laboratory.
PROTOTYPE RESEARCH_SERIES 01_LASERING ON LIQUID REFLECTIVE BASE_2016 . Made in highly reflective fabric, embedded thousands of glass microspheres. Hand-sprayed with a resin-based colour and then oven-dried. The numerical control laser beam etches the surface of the garment, producing a three-dimensional tone-on-tone effect.
All images Stone Island Prototype Research_Series 09 Collection by the brand.