In 1978 Massimo Osti, a young graphic designer from Bologna who would go on to be recognized as the “godfather of urban sportswear,” changed the name of his brand Chester Perry, founded in 1971 and famous for its screen printed t-shirts, to C.P. Company.

For more than 45 years the brand has continued to pioneer its signature hybridization of archival work and sportswear models, combining them with intensely researched, cutting-edge, Italian fabric innovation.

C.P. Company promises its customer a sophisticated but easy-to-wear design garments which speak the language of functionality and where the customer desires are satisfied by understanding the intrinsic material qualities of the garment rather than an immaterial idea of ‘luxury’ or ‘lifestyle’ or ‘aspiration’.

Garment dyeing is the name given to a process pioneered by Massimo Osti and his collaborators for C.P. Company in the early 1970s, in which a garment – usually made from white or raw un-coloured fabric – is only dyed as a final manufacturing step, as opposed to the conventional method of manufacturing garments from pre-dyed fabrics.

While the technique of garment dyeing has long existed, Massimo Osti and his collaborators were the first to attempt the technique with garments made from multiple fabrics or fiber types. This process - which appears almost alchemical for those who witness it first hand – produces a chromatic depth and intensity impossible to achieve with pre-dyed fabric, as well as enhancing the material characteristics of the fabric.