Italian sportswear maestros Stone Island are no stranger to an unusual camouflage pattern; unsurprising given the brand’s deep-rooted military influence. Recently we’ve seen everything from a Grid Camo pattern made from hundreds of different sizes of the brand’s Compass logo, to the Ghost Piece collection, their own interpretation of the whole camouflage concept. But now for SS18 the brand takes real-world inspiration and twists it into something truly exotic: the Alligator Camo collection.

Within the brand’s vast archives of vintage sportswear and militaria, the design team discovered an obscure camouflage pattern used by the Polish Armed Forces in the late 1980s. Dubbed the Wz. 89 ‘Puma’ pattern and known colloquially as the ‘Frog’ or ‘Alligator’ camo, the pattern was only in use for a scant four years before being retired; it evidently didn’t work very well against the Polish forests. This short period of usage also means that original pieces in good condition are hard to come by, and are sought after by collectors.

Stone Island have used the original pattern as a base, but enhanced it with their usual blend of highly technical fabrics and unique treatment processes. The fabrics used are subjected to a six-colour printing process: five colours of pigment dye to build up the base, and a further polyurethane print which adds a textured, rubberised aspect to enhance the impact of the wild camo pattern.

The capsule comes in a bold emerald green shade and encompasses a jacket, shorts and sweatshirts. Stone Island keep outdoing themselves with more and more fabric alchemy, and the Alligator Camo pack is sure to be extremely popular this season. As usual with Stone Island, numbers are limited, so make sure to be ready when the capsule launches instore and online on the 22^nd of March, right here at Aphrodite Clothing.