Designer Massimo Osti launched Chester Perry in 1971 in order to pursue his fascination with the utility inherent to military uniforms. After its name change to C.P. Company in 1978, the label quickly became known for its burst of creativity in athleisure. First designed in the 1980’s, the iconic goggle jacket was originally created for the Italian Mille Migla off-road race. After twenty years of exhaustive innovation in garment and textile design, Otsi left the brand in 1994, leaving behind a legacy as the godfather of urban Italian sportswear.
Creating such a legacy doesn’t happen by chance, it happens through expert dyeing techniques and technical fabrics. The label’s renowned success across the globe is down to its utilitarian inspired clothing. The house’s signature technique involves dyeing garments all at once rather than colouring them pre-assembly. This unique method lends itself to the label's distinctive colour-blocked aesthetic. With great attention to detail you'll see uniformed hues across the garments entirety, even down to the cuffs, collars and drawstrings. With an unparalleled chromatic depth and intensity, the label's garments propelled the label to the top of the fashion world.
Now led by designer Alessandro Pungetti and creative director Paul Howard, the past decade has seen the brand continue its hybrid aesthetic of fusing the functionality of vintage military with fabric innovation. With each season expect collections of thoughtfully designed outerwear and athletic base layers, think overshirts, sweats and shorts. Remaining a cult menswear piece to this day, the iconic goggles can feature heavily across each men's collection.
We caught up in our interview with Lorenzo Osti & Paul Harvey about the heritage and progression of C.P. Company.