Some artists, if they’re really lucky, can capture how it felt to be alive during a specific time and place in history. The clothes, the hair, the music—the way we talked and the way we listened, their work becoming a loving artefact of days gone by. The Right Honourable Nick Love, esteemed writer and director of The Football Factory, The Firm, Marching Powder and more, did much, much more than that. 

He was the architect of an entire movement—one that brought the most influential subculture of the last 30 years, that of the football casual, into the mainstream. His visual and sonic worlds, of Stone Island and Fila, Primal Scream and The Libertines, marked a generation of young people and shaped how they walk, talk, and dress to this day. 

We had the pleasure of chatting with Nick on the back of his incredible Stone Island campaign, culminating in Nick reading La Gazzetta dello Sport (another defining cultural object for generations of people, including the editorial staff at MUNDIAL) while knocking back an espresso in Shoreditch. Sue Perb.

Enjoy the interview below while you skive off work this afternoon. Because, come on, what else are you gonna do on a Tuesday afternoon?

Where does outsiderdom, the role of the outsider, fit into your filmography?

My films are always about outsiders, mostly working class men who have been neglected by the state and found their own ways of coping, mostly through gangs, violence and drugs. Whether we like it or not, this is a true reflection of today's society. If you exclude people from the conversation, they will rebel.

What is the legacy of Football Factory in the modern day?

The legacy of the football factory I'm pleased to say is growing. Back in the top ten on Netflix after 20 years is great news! I think it’s because it’s about a culture that hasn’t gone away and lots of younger men feel the same sense of alienation and disillusionment as when we made the film. The violence has changed but not gone away. Football still attracts misfits and angry young people. Clothes have changed. Fortunately Stone island is still the most influential brand on the terraces at football. I bought my first Stone Island  jacket in 1986 and it’s amazing to think it has grown into a mega brand today, but still loved by the fans of the original. That’s a very difficult thing to achieve and only stoney has done it!

What images or scenes from your films have stayed with you?

Strange images from my films stay with me, maybe not the obvious ones. In The Football Factory for instance, there’s an old man called Bill Farrell, and there’s a moment after his friend dies and he places his hand on the chair where the dead friend used to sit, and it has always stayed with me. Another moment is Danny Dyer in marching powder where he tries to get a job and looks around at the place he works, full of young people, and says “I’m a ghost” because I think all people as they get older can relate to this idea, of where they fit in still. Of where their place in society is.

My films are always about outsiders, mostly working class men who have been neglected by the state and found their own ways of coping, mostly through gangs, violence and drugs.

What is your defining preoccupation as a filmmaker?

My defining preoccupation as a film-maker is the working class in England. It's amazing to me that nearly half of the country is working class, yet the representation in film, TV, theatre and books is almost zero. I feel some kind of responsibility to make working class entertainment and I feel proud to be recognised as a leading working class film maker.

Favourite ever Stone Island piece/collection?

Favourite piece of Stone Island is impossible: I’ve had so many over the years - I really love my pink/orange and green hoodies from back in the day - I wish they still made them as mine are falling apart - I asked Romeo Ruffini to make some more! He will, I'm sure. Also, I really love the jacket I wore for the campaign - so stunning.

With thanks to the very good people at Stone Island. We’ll take two of the Nylon Prismatico please, all the best.