Welcome to the 232nd insertion of DEMUR®, an analytical series highlighting the intricacies of the artistic world and the minutiae lying within. In this episode, we recall distant memories of the Paninaro, breaking down shoplifting and sandwiches' ties to football and the success of Stone Island.
The story of Stone Island's claim to fame is a tale filled with passion, presentation and rebellion, but it all begins with Milan's Paninaro youth. Dating back to the 1980s, the sub-culture derives from a group of carefree adolescents who frequently hung around a sandwich shop known as the 'Panino' Cafe in their hometown of Milan, Italy. Characterized by their detest for cultural norms, like traditional Italian lunches, which are often prepared at a "painstakingly slow pace", their mantras lied in the ethos of fast food, consumerism and seemingly effortless style.
Riding from cafe to cafe on mopeds, their class took an interest in native brands like C.P. Company and Stone Island, Moncler and Versace. Igniting a cultural phenomenon often compared to 'hypebeasts' of the modern era, the Paninaro steez would soon catch fire among British football enthusiasts, who had followed their respective teams from country to country. Adopting labels far from the middle-class salary, a prestige hierarchy was born, prompting a fight for the most expensive and prestigious models available.
Plagued as the 'terrace casuals' movement, U.K. hooligans began leveraging their newfound appearance to avoid police escorts and rivalry fan brawls. Enforcement officers became increasingly aware of this tactic but couldn't have expected the chaos that followed England's elimination from the group stages of the European Championship in Sweden (1992). Fans flooded onto the street following the game's close, targeting a Swedish outlet known as 'Genius' as they looted the store’s Stone Island stock. Accredited as one of the most crucial events in the success of Stone Island, the '92 incident enriched Stoney's history, drawing eyes to the patch while cementing it into Britain’s ‘casual’ culture.
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