“As I am, I’ve chosen to be,” sang Lucio Dalla. Walking through the Massimo Osti Archive, these words echo, grounded in a shared Bolognese heritage, and a profound friendship forged between two equally revolutionary minds.

Each piece in this space, steeped in history, rings out like a musical note from a complex discography each with a distinct value, a unique identity, and a specific purpose. A futuristic jacket. A camouflage print. A prototype never to be replicated. Everything in this vibrant monument to the memory and excellence of Massimo Osti resonates with the pursuit of innovation—or rather, with a relentless drive to rediscover the familiar. To alter eternal paradigms that are only seemingly immutable. To capture the universal heartbeat of eras and contexts, and then transform it into a personal testament, embodied in material form.

Within this space, where genius is palpable in every fabric and detail, Lorenzo Osti—current President of C.P. Company and co-creator of the Massimo Osti Studio project, as well as the Archive alongside his sister Agata—guides us through the memories of his father. With a natural flair for storytelling, Lorenzo weaves the tale through a stream of consciousness and affection that stem from a deep desire to honor the visionary mind that redefined creative thought and processes throughout the latter half of the twentieth century.

Lorenzo infuses life into every object, jumping from hidden gems to famous fashion treasures, transforming the Archive’s shelves into equally meaningful chapters of his father’s creative journey. It’s a story told through garments and inspirations—the story of an outsider who channeled his vision through fashion, but didn’t let it box him in. The story of a modest trailblazer. The story of Massimo Osti.

In this first chapter, we explore the human and professional elements of his legacy. The second chapter will shift focus, entirely dedicated to the relationship between the eclectic Bolognese designer and the world of sports imagery.

From Bologna to Fashion: The Origins of Massimo Osti, A preordained path toward a Visionary Rise

“Much of what my father brought to the table stems from his unique background, which set him apart from most designers and stylists. First and foremost, there’s Bologna (we’ll delve more into the Osti family’s ties with their city in the second focus). He grew up here during and after World War II, a time marked by tragedy: one of the finals bombings took his father’s life, which forced him and his two brothers to begin working at a young age. Without a formal academic education, he started as a sales rep for Pirelli while attending an evening course in graphic design. These classes sparked his interest in advertising, and he began creating marketing materials for various stores.

Then, he founded a graphic design studio with his friend Lucio Festi and began collaborating with the company Anna Gobbo, which at the time was called Anna Sport. He rebranded their logo and name and worked on graphics for t-shirts. It was the late ’60s, and even in these early works, you could already sense his unconventional and innovative approach…”

THE FIRST CHAPTER: CHESTER PERRY. Aesthetic pillars and a growing archive, the roots of the Osti magnum opus.

“The idea to create a brand for his designs emerged naturally, and he called it Chester Perry, inspired by the factory where Bristow, a character from the popular Linus comic, worked. In 1971, he founded the brand, with graphic design as its foundation – the first of the four pillars that would shape, in my opinion, his aesthetic and his poetic vision. Even at this stage, he was using distinctive, unconventional processes, and engaging with materials in new ways. For instance, printing a photo of a t-shirt on a t-shirt. My father was always intrigued by the idea of ‘faking’ materials—a trait that ran throughout his entire career…

Then came the need to create something more structured – outerwear. His immediate focus was on functionality and practicality, as he never approached clothing as ‘fashion’ in the traditional sense. For him, it was all about the mantra: ‘I need to wear something, I want to be comfortable, I want to feel good.’ That’s why he turned to military clothing as his second pillar. He often emphasized how every detail in military garments existed for a precise reason and function. No embellishments or random decoration. The quality was exceptional, driven by a focus on utility rather than market. Around this time, he began collecting vintage military pieces, sparking the creation of his archive, a small portion of which you can see here in these rooms. At one point, he had almost 30,000 items. He kept them all in his office, laying them out on the floor one by one, observing them from a mezzanine, drawing inspiration from them… Today, 2,000 of those items remain preserved in the archive.”

C.P. COMPANY: A Brand for a Cultural Generation. Breaking Free from Rigidity through the Courage of Diversity and Innovation.

“In 1978, the company underwent a rebranding, transitioning to the simpler and now-iconic initials: C.P. Company. At this point, he became increasingly aware that he wasn’t a stylist. He didn’t consider himself one. He couldn’t draw, but he had an innovative system that remains the object of study for visiting professors and designers: he would photocopy existing pieces and details from garments, create collages, find his ‘formula,’ and then hand it over to a technician to finalize the design. He mixed zippers, pockets—anything that inspired him…

My father approached design with the mindset of an inventor, challenging conventional perspectives and processes – a transformation deeply influenced by the cultural shifts of his era. During his formative years, clothing adhered to strict rules. Every piece had a precise, rigid function: clothes for church, work, for leisure. Fabrics, too, were limited and predictable… The generational protests, epitomized by demonstrations against the Vietnam War, brought about a significant shift. It turned everything upside down, and my father translated this new social, ideological direction into his brands. He created hybrid products that didn’t have a clear definition: like a down jacket, which until then had been used only for the mountains, combined with the print of a Montgomery coat, reimagined for urban use. This innovation resonated with younger generations seeking individuality and self-expression. The same applied to the materials and their treatment. He developed the ‘garment-dyed’ process, the third pillar of his vision, refining an existing technique. He produced garments that looked aged and worn, breaking with the rigid ideal of pristine, untouched clothing and redefining what was considered stylish and modern.

His inventive ‘calling’ is also evidenced by many other projects outside the fashion world. He launched a C.P. magazine, which was sold in newsstands and reached a circulation of 50,000 copies, envisioned an early all-screen mobile phone, sponsored an electric car in 1990, and conceptualized designs for audiobooks and satellite navigation systems decades before they hit the market… We still have letters full of these ideas, addressed to well-known Italian entrepreneurs. The ‘garment-dyed’ concept, too, was applied to his communication style—the other area that truly inspired him and in which he fully expressed himself throughout his life. He would often photocopy high-definition photos of the collections up to three times, using one of the first color copiers, making them lose their sharpness and rendering them ‘aged.’ These elements, together, underline the originality of his vision and the multidisciplinary approach that defined his legacy.”

PUSHING BEYOND THE LIMITS. Textile experimentation in the forefront with a Compass Rose.

“The C.P. garment-dyeing process completely transforms the aesthetic. White garments are immersed in dye and come out with colors that fade depending on the area of the garment itself. These are chromatic variations that no one else could achieve. The next step was double-dyeing: through various trials, my father and his collaborators discovered that mixing brown and green in the same dye bath had different effects—brown on cotton, green on nylon. This opened up a whole world of mixed options, each as distinct and original as the process itself.

But these discoveries weren’t enough. He began experimenting with fabrics, sourcing them from outside the traditional clothing industry and transforming them. One of his collaborators, Adriano Caccia, shared his fascination with truck tarps faded by the sun. My father bought this fabric and created the Stone Island brand in 1982, conceived solely to explore this idea. The name was influenced by my mother, a reader of Joseph Conrad’s novels, where these words often appeared, as well as by our family’s love for the sea (a theme we’ll discuss in more depth in the second focus). It was especially tied to Baia Sardinia, where my parents spent their summers selling off-season stock. The Compass Rose logo is another clear sign of his fascination with the maritime.

C.P. Company and Stone Island were distinct from the outset. The former focused on ‘garment-dyeing’ and earth tones, aimed at a more mature, sophisticated audience—perhaps even a bourgeois one. The latter targeted a younger demographic, with bright colors, reflective fabrics, and bold statements…”

PERSPECTIVES OF AN OUTSIDER. Shades, influences, and effects of an unconventional designer who never considered himself as such.

“Cyberspace and science fiction have always been part of his imagination, subtly shaping his creations—a passion I’ve also shared for years… A curious anecdote underscores this connection. It involves the legendary William Gibson, author of Neuromancer, among others. In 2012, we were working on a commemorative book, Ideas from Massimo Osti, and we received an order from someone we thought was a namesake of Gibson. Doubtful, we left a personal note for him. Not long after, Gibson responded, revealing that he was a long-time fan of my father… We immediately asked him to write a foreword for the reprint, alongside Errolson Hugh, the founder of ACRONYM and, for several months, a stagiaire of my father. Errolson also shared an amusing story: when he worked alongside my father in Bologna, he would present new designs to my father, only to hear, ‘Ah, you’ve made something like this before… which I’ve also already done.’

Expanding the lens on Massimo Osti’s creative trajectory, many of his peers highlighted how he redefined the concept of ‘top-down’—the typical designer’s flow: starting with an idea, creating a mood board, then sketches, followed by prototypes, and finally, a runway show to present the tangible narrative of the original concept. My father did the opposite—he followed a ‘bottom-up’ process, improving pre-existing things from the ground up. This method demanded a vast and eclectic archive. They didn’t teach this at school. The only one guy who does is Andrew Groves, a professor at Westminster in London, who often visited us.

This, too, is a sign that my father was—and still is—considered an outsider. He felt this way throughout his life. He chose to stay in Bologna, not Milan, reinforcing his position outside convention. He didn’t frequent salons, nor did he attend fashion shows… And he never glorified his work, let alone his contribution to the fashion world. He was a different kind of designer, and that resonated time when people wanted to feel different through their clothing.”

NEW, CHALLENGING, VISIONARY WORLDS. A new phase, defined as much by an unwavering thirst for progress as by the unpredictable twists of fate.

“A new chapter in my father’s life begins when, due to a series of unforeseen events, he steps away from the companies that marked his rise. He then started over with Left Hand, a brand that connected with women for the first time. Here, he began to move away from some of his core principles: like graphics, which essentially disappeared, and ‘garment-dyeing.’ However, his desire for innovation remained, which translated into associating each collection with a specific material—like faux deer leather or PVC, which would be illegal today, but wasn’t back then.

As he approached the new century, at the height of his success, he launched Massimo Osti Production. Up until that point, he had never sought attention for his name; he’d always been quite private. Unfortunately, the project didn’t go well due to a series of financial problems that didn’t directly involve him. Essentially, he was defrauded. The brand managed to rebound through a collaboration with Levi’s, which lasted for a while. He even teamed up with Philips to create a groundbreaking vest, designed with specific spaces for mobile phones and MP3 players… Nothing like that had ever been done before.”

A FAMILY LEGACY. The archive takes on new life through the philological work of the family and Lorenzo Osti’s return to C.P. Company.

“At just 60 years old and still brimming with ideas, my father passed away. Sadly, smoking had always been his greatest struggle. My sister and I had only lightly engaged with his work along our respective paths. At 20, I had worked with him for just over a year, developing what turned out to be the first fashion website in Italy. My expertise, after all, was in the graphic-advertising world and in computer science. After that experience, I opened an agency. However, his passing deeply affected us, prompting my sister and me to devote part of our lives to preserving his legacy. So, we began collecting everything we could, and in 2012, we published the book Ideas from Massimo Osti, without any commercial intentions.

My involvement with C.P. Company began after that, at the end of 2015. In the meantime, I had developed my agency and formed a strong relationship with a Chinese client. When I heard C.P. was up for sale, I reached out to that client. He agreed to invest but asked me to play an active role in this new chapter of the brand. Right from the start, I made it clear that I didn’t want to be ‘the owner’s son.’ I wasn’t a designer, and I didn’t want to design collections. I asked to contribute to the area I knew best—marketing. After navigating what could only be described as ‘imposter syndrome,’ I’m continuing to develop marketing strategies and branding; for instance, I’ve revived the C.P. Magazine ‘Arcipelago,’ and I manage the business side.

When it comes to product design, I don’t interfere because I have complete trust in the talented professionals who handle it. I’m fortunate to collaborate with brilliant professionals, and together with my family, we continue to work on the Massimo Osti Archive, welcoming and engaging with anyone interested in the milestones and vision of my father.”

In the next few weeks, you’ll be able to delve into the second chapter of this exploration into Massimo Osti’s legacy, with a special focus on his dynamic relationship with the sporting muse.