“Only by thinking about clothing in terms of years rather than seasons one can guarantee a quality which will win over the crisis of overdose which provoked the refusal of the consumer.”

– Massimo Osti

Memoirs of a Fan

Cemented in the roots of modern-day casual culture, C.P. Company is a widely recognised Italian sportswear clothing brand, now celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Created back in 1971 by visionary designer Massimo Osti, C.P. became part of the family of several other menswear brands from the Osti stable, Stone Island being the most notable.

This year, three other Osti brands, Boneville (1981), Left Hand (1993) and S.T. Ninetyfive (1995), are being re-launched into the marketplace.

Having not only cemented its place in menswear history, C.P. remains extremely influential today, evolving with the times yet sticking to its original philosophy created by Osti. I myself have remained a fan since I was introduced to the brand in the 90’s.

Combining a strong balance between heritage and innovation, C.P. combines quality with both functional and comfortable products which are made to last, not just for seasons but generations – a marked style, that has created a new model army of followers, which has transcended the ages.

MY GENERATION

CP Company 1996 – 2021

When the C.P. Company 50-year retrospective book popped up on my radar I instantly ordered one. I was excited. I was expecting to look at some well-photographed products from the archives and learn more about C.P. Company. Yes, the book is full of beautiful, well-executed product shots, but it’s so much more…

The book also proved to be a window into the worlds of several characters from different backgrounds around the world and their journey with the brand. I instantly had a sense of connection with them.

My story

The character reference in the book started to make me reflect on my own journey with the brand, which started in the mid-90s. Although its a similar journey from those characters, it’s from another place in time, my childhood town, Brighton.

I grew up in Brighton and Hove which is a small seaside town situated 50 miles directly below London. Brighton is and always has been a very diverse place. It’s a liberal and creative with a lot of different subcultures mixing together, no one cared what you were into.

It’s a cool place for people who like the alternative and independent. You can be yourself.

Curious in nature I was sucking up the different cultures. I caught the end of the Acid House movement in the 90’s which evolved into the rave scene which a particular spotlight on Sterns Night club in Worthing.  Then transitioning into House music and another top UK club The Escape Club in Brighton, which became a regular haunt of mine. Not forgetting the whole Indie scene going on with Oasis, Manic Street Preachers and The Charlatans to name a few.

The Goldstone ground, the home of Brighton and Hove Albion FC then was only 10 minutes from my house, and I had to walk past it daily to school. Football and the football community became a big part of my life.

Today the club is healthy and doing well in top-flight football with a next level stadium. In the mid-90s it was a different picture, as the club was dropping down the leagues to a point where in 1997 it was fighting to stay alive, with very low home support.  The club was under bad management and the Goldstone ground was sold to make a retail park. The club was homeless until 2011.

I rarely missed a game…

Style C.P. Company

In the early 90s I became more aware of the styles of different subcultures.

Living close to the Goldstone ground and having friends close by, I noticed some of their older brothers and their mates dressing cleaner and smarter and became aware of the C.P. Company. At the time I was wearing a baggy long sleeve T-shirt.

C.P. Company worked well for me as it had little or no branding, you could mix between the different subculture’s without standing out and it wasn’t too smart to be wearing during the day time, yet smart enough to get into clubs.

With my interest in clothing I found myself working in a designer sportswear store in Brighton call Profile, which was back then stockist of the usual suspects such as Armani Jeans, Valentino, Stone Island, Hugo Boss and of course C.P. Company. Working with these clothes on a daily basis attracted me even more to the latter.

From there I went to study clothing design and technology at Manchester Metropolitan University where I delved deeper into researching C.P. and the designer behind the brand Massimo Osti.

Osti

Massimo Osti was an Italian graphic designer from Bologna, Italy. He brought the lens of graphic design and communication to the creation of menswear and transformed it forever.

Osti started the brand in 1971, a time when men were wearing tailored suits and stiff shirts. The original name of the brand was Chester Perry, which was then rebranded to C.P. Company in 1975.

Starting out by making T-shirts, which at that time were seen as undergarments, Osti would use paper printing techniques to print artworks onto the tees – combining the two technologies together was a very innovative approach for that time.

Expanding the product line further, Osti start exploring different garment pieces such as outerwear.

Gaining inspiration from studying the form and functionality of military uniforms and workwear, Osti did not follow the fashion circus, the catwalks or even visit trade shows.

He was a massive collector of military uniforms and workwear, where he found his inspiration and deconstructed the garments to get a better understanding. He recreated the products into new forms and new functionality to suit the modern urban man.

Osti wanted to create perfectly functioning timeless garments. Instead of creating new pieces every season, he focused on a few select garments which he would evolve and fine-tune over time. These pieces became iconic products. One stand-out piece is the famous Goggle jacket.

The Goggle jacket has been in existence since 1988 and had many iterations over the years. Osti had discovered a Japanese civil defence hood that had lenses sewn into the fabric, he evolved these lenses and combined them to a cotton field jacket to create the explorer jacket. This was released in the Spring-Summer of 1998.

Osti continued his research and development with the lenses, creating several prototypes and the idea of moving the lenses from the collar into the hood came to mind.

He was also inspired by the Swiss field jacket and multi-purpose pockets. He combined the two technologies to create what we know now to be the Goggle jacket.

Product innovations

Massimo Osti researched and heavily explored the garment dyeing process, which C.P. Company is now widely known for, and the brand is continuously evolving this technology today.

Garment dyeing is in the art of taking all the parts of a garment which are usually white or un-coloured and constructing them together into a product then dipped into a dye bath, this creating a unique (different shades), beautiful, natural, tonal relaxed appearance and an aesthetic of a used, second-hand garment.

The garment-dyeing process also brings sustainability and flexibility to the manufacturing process. C.P. Company buys extremely large quantities of plain materials which then can be used year-after-year but look different every time after the dying process. It also keeps the cost of the product down.

The Family Culture

Everything back then was made in house and Osti used both his friends and family to model. His wife was the photographer.

Products of C.P. company are very well made and still carry that quality today. Back in the early days their lines were produced by some 40 outside manufactures scattered around Italy know as Faconisti, who were sub-contractors renting machinery and space from the Ravarino company.

The contractors were highly skilled and paid accordingly. They were partners who were expected to share in the company’s desire for innovation and high quality.

Conclusion

Massimo Osti’S legacy lives on. His innovative visionary design philosophies can still be seen everywhere today. So many of us have graphic T-shirts and down jackets in our wardrobes.

Massimo Osti’s philosophy will be even more relevant in the future as the world is looking for a more sustainable path. The need for more sustainable and better quality, functional timeless products sits at ease with C.P. Company’s philosophy.

For the 50th anniversary, C.P. released the explorer jacket, choosing the more sustainable Ventile cotton-based waterproof fabric. It will be interesting to see if they lean more toward this in the future.

Although the younger generation is wearing C.P. Company, they have created their own styling, which is a relaxed blend mixing the subcultures of music, football, sneaker culture, and skate.

There is a huge re-sale market of the products which are selling for good money on eBay, and a whole industry of resellers has popped up like Rag Parade in Sheffield and Too Hot Limited online store out of London to name a few. Japanese collectors have also now picked-up on C.P. Company, especially the vintage Goggle jackets, which will raise the prices even more.

With the release of 3 off his previous brands, the core design philosophy of Osti will be there to be seen. The balance between heritage and innovation, crafting quality, functional and comfortable garments.

Not just Osit’s own brands take direct influence from him either. It can be seen in SEVENLAYER, a young Premium English menswear brand and NemeN an up-and-coming Italian brand.

Photographs taken from my own personal journey…

First published it seems magazine November 2021 issue 2