Stone Island are joining forces with the Scarborough Shooting Stars for their first-ever basketball collaboration.
The brand has become a status symbol amongst British youth subculture over the years, first establishing itself in the mid-1980s amongst football fans and later on in the music scene as the 90s crept in. Stone Island became even bigger in 2014 after their collaboration with Supreme and became even more cemented in the UK with the rise of Grime. Fast forward to today, you would have probably seen some very notable celebs dressed in Stoney; Dave and Jason Statham to name a couple.
Stone Island's step into basketball is being orchestrated by Niko Cariono, aka OVONIKO, who is the co-founder of OVO. He is also the president of the Scarborough Shooting Stars who compete in the Canadian Elite Basketball League.
"This partnership is more of a symbol that means growth, solidarity and power in numbers," explained Carino in an interview with HIGHSNOBIETY. "Sharing these values through sport and fashion can be easier to relate to the youth."
The SSSs have ties to one British Basketball Team in particular, the Manchester Giants. They not only have Nick Lewis, the Scarborough-Native who has been with the Giants for two straight season now, but there were also rumblings of the Giants potentially being owned by Niko. Of course, those were just in fact rumours and nothing ever materialised.
This collaboration however, of a brand that has cemented itself amongst the fabric of British youth subculture and basketball, could do a lot for the sport's reputation in the UK. Reaching the youth, who are the largest participants in the sport here and are more often than not the talking point when it comes to the comparison of participation numbers as we sit 2nd behind that of football, is imperative for the growth of the game and one of, if not the only way of reaching them is by connecting with them through their own interests such as sports, music and fashion.
A Stone Island Warm-Up Tracksuit was made solely for SSS athletes comprising of a jacket and matching trousers both cut from Stone Island's garment-dyed Nylon Metal, a lightweight material which SI usually use for their packable rainwear.
These trackies will be available in a limited supply at a dedicated Stone Island Night in Toronto at the SSS' penultimate game of the 2023/2024 season. Check out the tracky in closer detail below.
Photos: HIGHSNOBIETY, OVONIKO