Get the Badge In – Reflecting on Drake's Stone Island Era
With over a decade in the game, it should come as no surprise that Drake has undergone many transformations. From the curls to skinhead, beardless to beard, and waves to braids, with each album, we've almost always got a new look.
Once upon a time, Drizzy's style obsessions saw his loyalties lay with one brand only; Stone Island.
A love like no other, his frequent co-signs helped shift the brand's global perception, seeing its international presence reach new heights. While Drake's Stone Island era may be a thing of the past, its impact and infamy are just too great not to reflect on.
As all good relationships should be, Champagne Papi and the compass-badged brand was a marathon, not a sprint.
The pair's flirtations started bubbling to the surface in late 2014 as the star made public appearances brandishing the badge.
Perhaps the most noteworthy was a note-so-subtle flex of the first Supreme x Stone Island collaboration, which dropped in Fall/Winter of the same year.
A gentle tease at most, these moments served as a precursor for the heavy petting to come as Drake geared up for the release of If You're Reading This It's Too Late in 2015.
Many of you will remember this as the roadman Drake era. You know, hanging out with Skepta and BBK (Boy Better Know), spending a lot more time in London, and, of course, flexing Stone Island pieces at Wimbledon.
Even now, I don't think anyone expected to see a star of Aubrey's magnitude hit up Wimbledon for the weekend, especially wearing his own take on the tournament's classic whites – complete with a pair of Nike TNs!
Following the success of their first team-up in FW14, Supreme and SI reunited for SS15 to deliver their most coveted collection to date.
Couple this with Drake's intensifying love affair with the brand, and you had the perfect storm to carry Stoney out of Europe and onto international waters.
Throughout 2015 and 2016, Drake's roadman era continued to cook, wearing pieces from the 2015 and 2016 Nike x SI collaborative collections.
During this period, many in the UK began speculating that a move to London was imminent due to More Life featuring Skepta and Jorja Smith, that iconic surprise performance with Section Boyz, headlining Wireless Festival, and that BBK tattoo.
While the move never happened, he remained committed to the cause with the badge firmly at the Canadian superstar's arm well into 2017, when things hit a peak.
During the European leg of his Boy Meets World tour, Drake's rocked several custom pieces, including a statement Nylon Metal two-piece tracksuit, complete with one-of-a-kind patch details.
This piece was a real show-stopper, and even the most hardened Stone Island fans that felt American celebrity influence was ruining the brand were hungry for a piece of the action.
As if 1-of-1 tour gear wasn't enough, 2017 was also the year that the artist took home a monumental 13 billboard awards in one night.
To mark the occasion, another custom was in order. This time around, an all-white two-piece double badge flex. Bold.
Although Stone Island was at the ready to provide Drake with custom looks, which was something none of us had seen the brand do before, it was about to become clear who was more into who.
2017 was, of course, the year of that chain. By now, we're used to his ridiculous custom jewelry, but back then, none of us were ready for Ben Baller's diamond compass logo chain.
For many, this was the moment that Drake took it too far, and in retrospect, this was the beginning of the end. Slowly but surely, the iconic badge faded into obscurity.
The job was done. Stone Island, with its mainstream popularity bigger than ever, was cemented in the States, and with that, Drake officially bowed out.
