Introducing C.P. Company
By Ali George Hinkins
To those who may not be as versed in Massimo Osti as I or cult enthusiasts, the name may sound like ‘any other’ Italian fashion designer, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, without Osti’s innovations and work, it’s hard to picture what the fashion industry would look like today.
First hand, Massimo Osti was an Italian garment engineer and fashion designer – possibly the most fitting and shortest way to describe his slew of talents without underplaying them. During his lengthy career, he was responsible for manufacturing mind-blowing fabrics and designing some of the most iconic pieces of clothing for a generation. Without wanting to make this a piece on the legacy of Massimo Osti, designers such as Errolson Hugh, co-owner of ACRONYM and one of the minds behind Stone Island Shadow Project, and Aitor Throup cite the Italian forefather as something of an inspiration.
Before his passing in 2005, Massimo Osti was responsible for building C.P. Company and Stone Island from the ground up into the sportswear giants they are today. Aside from these, Osti worked on various external projects for the likes of Levi’s and Dockers where he would explore our preconceptions of what a traditional uniform looked like, experimenting with jackets and legwear.
One of the many projects that Massimo Osti lent his expertise to is C.P. Company, once known as Chester Perry, founded in 1971. For over 60 years, C.P. Company has stood at the cornerstone of garment and textile innovation, introducing groundbreaking methods and processes to the fashion industry which would have been considered outright outrageous, bordering impossible, at the time. Experimentation and innovation were, and still are, the lifeblood of C.P. Company – it is entrenched within the brand’s DNA.
At its inception, there wasn’t another brand that was fusing functional design with contemporary silhouettes, often inspired by military, workwear and racing uniforms with the specific details to match. Two of its most popular design motifs are the goggles and watchfinder window which have featured prominently on outerwear, headwear and knitwear items, among others, that reinforce C.P. Company’s identity without making an overt statement while paying homage to the foundations that Osti laid in the 1960s.
The identity of C.P. Company’s mainline products is very distinctive and easily recognisable by today’s standards, the result of decades of successful work by various creative directors and designers. However, in the late 1990s and early 2000s, like many other brands at the time, they were open to experimenting with diffusion lines that granted greater freedom and autonomy to their designers.
In 1997, C.P. Company welcomed a new creative director, Moreno Ferrari, an Italian designer who had grown up alongside the brand, understanding its heritage better than anyone else (besides Massimo himself). Moreno Ferrari came along to C.P. Company with enthusiasm and drive, with the ambition to innovate within the realms of function and use – the Urban Protection and Transformables lines are a testament to that.
Released at the turn of the millennium during a period of global uncertainty, the highly conceptual ‘Transformables’ line introduced garments with dual purpose; the function of which varied from piece to piece, some could be used as shelter and others for recreation. For example, the ‘Tent Jacket’, the first piece that Ferrari designed under the new line, mirrored the works of Lucy Orta and Final Home by providing a degree of shelter for the wearer in what he saw as a dystopian future. In its primal form, the jacket took on the silhouette of a long hooded cloak which could seamlessly transform into a tent. The majority of pieces were made using a bespoke lightly rubberised nylon material called ‘Crystal Wind’ which was entirely wind and rain-proof. Rather obscure collections like these stay in the mind of long-time supporters but, upon discovery, also encourage new followers of the brand to dig deeper into C.P. Company’s rich history and back catalogue of designs.
Today, though, C.P. Company regularly collaborates with external partners throughout the industry, from esteemed designers like Junya Watanabe and Kiko Kostadinov to brands like Palace and ASICS without compromising their identity. Their ability to mix with luxury and street-level names is an indicator of their standing, occupying a space between the two that is favourable among cult followers.
HHV’s first offering of C.P. Company accurately represents the Italian label’s prowess, mixing technical jackets and coats with sweatshirts and knitted jumpers alongside bottoms in varying cuts and silhouettes. In addition, bags, hats, t-shirts and shirting round off this Spring/Summer ‘24 delivery. Garments are finished with archetypal C.P. Company design motifs like goggles, watch finder windows and printed graphics.
Aside from the end product, C.P. Company serves as a physical reminder and documentation of the garments it references, preserving them and their time-specific details through updated cuts and fabrics that bring them into a modern context.
Available to purchase now from HHV’s online store.
