When the legendary Massimo Osti founded the Chester Perry brand in 1971, it was already clear to everyone that it would be the beginning of a long history of cutting-edge innovations, especially in the field of fabrics and dyes. Osti used methods that at the time were adopted almost exclusively for paper such as photocopying, screen printing and four-color printing, drawing heavily from his experience as a graphic designer.
In the following two years he experimented and perfected garment dyeing which is the name of a process introduced by Osti himself and which consists in dyeing during the final phase of the production process of a garment in raw and undyed fabric. This technique differs from the conventional method that involves making garments from fabrics already dyed.
Although garment dyeing had already existed for some time, Massimo Osti and his collaborators at C.P. Company were the first to use it on garments made with different fibres and fabrics. An almost alchemical process that produces a chromatic depth and intensity impossible to obtain with predyed fabrics.
Inspired by Bauhaus methods, Osti has reworked archival military, work and sports garments through intense research on Italian fabrics to give shape to a completely new tailoring code based on functionality.
“I design clothes for a man who travels across the planet, through different environments; nature, traffic, pollution, the urban adventure. I’ve always thought that my clothes had to respond to real needs”.
The enormous ability of C.P. Company to respect the dictates of its founder over the years, has meant that the legacy, the legacy of Massimo Osti, was always at the center of the overall project.
Rather than following trends, the brand has always focused – especially in recent years – on the DNA that has distinguished C.P. since its origins, preserving its invaluable cultural cachet and at the same time projecting that heritage into the contemporary world.
The idea for the Goggle Jacket came when Osti managed to recover a protective hood worn by the Japanese Civil Defense – his archives in Bologna, which can still be visited today, is a real place of worship – which included a pair of protective lenses inside and studied the details. The idea of making a jacket with a pair of lenses sewn inside the fabric immediately excited him.
The first prototype Goggle Jacket had the lenses sewn inside a very long neck that had to be pulled up to the eyes and was produced for the Spring/Summer 1988 in limited quantities. After further research on the protective hoods used by the army and on the antigas clothing, he had the idea to move the lenses inside the hood also to make it more comfortable and functional.
This new version of the Goggle Jacket also saw the addition of an additional lens on the left sleeve at wrist height to allow the wearer to see their watch.
Probably the most iconic piece of C.P. Company, the original Goggle Jacket is known by most as “Mille Miglia”.
The company decided to sponsor the legendary vintage car race and gave a Goggle Jacket to all participants and organizers, from here it took its nickname unofficial but now become emblematic. The jacket was a perfect mix of sportswear, performance and design of the highest quality.
Reinterpreted and reinvented every season, the Goggle Jacket today we see it on Stormzy, Rejjie Snow, Slowthai, Marracash and many others, as proof that winning ideas never die.
Functional, timeless and with a bold aesthetic, this jacket has been and still is today and with even more strength, the symbol of creativity of Massimo Osti and C.P. Company.
