1982 was a very important turning point in the world of sportswear and fashion in general.
Everything was born from an intuition, one of many, of Massimo Osti, one of the most decisive and impactful designers of all time who, due to a “failure”, created Stone Island.
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After founding C.P. Company originally under the name Chester Perry – the name is the same as the factory where Bristow, the hero of Frank Dickens’ comic strip, worked – Massimo, drawing on his experience as a graphic designer, created a distinctive style of communication for his company: the toy car, posters with pop graphics and other accessories to be offered as gifts to retailers, as well as starting to experiment with garment dyeing. Although this type of processing had already existed for a long time, Osti and his collaborators were the first to use it on garments made from different fibers or fabrics. This process produces a depth and intensity of color that is impossible to achieve with pre-dyed fabrics.
This ability to project his vision into the future made Osti a unique precursor of the times. It is thanks to this peculiarity of his to anticipate the common thought and to go beyond it that, in 1982, one of the most recognizable and desired brands of the last 40 years, Stone Island, was born.
Osti began to be interested in the possibility of using new and different materials to make his garments. The fabric from which everything started was a canvas of a different color on each side, which was used to make the tarpaulins used to cover truck trailers. Initially, Osti used this new material to create a small capsule collection for C.P. Company, but it was received with very little interest by the brand’s usual consumers.
Massimo’s stubbornness, however, did not allow him to abandon the project in which he firmly believed and, in order not to give up, he invented a sort of sub-label of C.P. with a debut collection composed of only 7 coats made with that new fabric called Tela Stella. All characterized by a symbol that has become iconic, the Wind Rose – which symbolized the love for the sea and for the constant research, typical characteristics of Osti – the 7 items of the collection recalled in a very strong way the research in the world of military vintage that the designer from Bologna had been carrying out for some time. An immediate and explosive success that after 40 years is stronger than ever and that is constantly celebrated.
To celebrate its first 40 years, Stone Island is kicking off a series of celebrations that reflect the brand’s visual aesthetic, which is inextricably linked to research and technology: “Function is the purest form of aesthetics. It’s a fact. And so, the path to perfection becomes an engineering challenge to be solved. Embrace industry as artistry; practice technology as the absolute form of creativity. Follow obsessions; it’s a force for progress. Never stop experimenting; it’s the gateway to the rule’s exception. Study colors; it’s the artist’s theory. Look at life and disorder as the ultimate lab; it’s where resilience and spirit are truly tested. And never compromise, not even a litter. This, is Stone Island”.
Also coming up is a collaboration with American artist Daniel Arsham of which a teaser video was released yesterday. We just have to wait and see what Stone Island has in store for us throughout 2022 to celebrate its first 40 years.
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