Item WMABOOK/132 - Arcipelago Issue 4

Chester Perry 1971–8
C.P. Company 1978–present
C.P. Company was founded in 1971 in Bologna, by designer Massimo Osti (1944–2005). The brand was originally called Chester Perry, but following legal action by Chester Barrie and Fred Perry, the name was changed to C.P. Company in 1978. In 1981 Trabaldo Togna Holding SpA (an Italian fabric manufacturer) acquired 50 per cent of C.P. Company SpA from Raimondo Cattabriga. In 1983, Massimo Osti sold the remaining 50 per cent of the company to San Benedetto del Tronto–based Italiana Manifatture. Gruppo Finanziario Tessile (GFT) acquired the shares of Italiana Manifatture and Trabaldo Togna Holding SpA in 1983, achieving 100 per cent ownership of the company. Carlo Rivetti left GFT in 1992, founding Sportswear Company SpA with his sister Cristina Rivetti. In 1993, Sportswear Company SpA acquired the Stone Island, Boneville and C.P. Company brands. The company’s early design philosophy was centred on garment dyeing, which is the process of applying colour to garments after they are created, frequently combining natural and synthetic textiles to achieve a variety of results. In 1987, C.P. Company developed the capability to coat the inside of cloth with a porous rubber coating, which resulted in the invention of Rubber Wool and Rubber Flax. Research into protective hoods resulted in the Explorer jacket and the Mille Miglia jacket in 1988. Both designs incorporated lenses into the garment’s hood or collar, allowing the wearer to see through them.

In 1991 they launched a range called Continuative Garments that saw the same garments being released each season, with only minor changes to the colour and fabrication. Massimo Osti resigned as creative director in 1994, and Romeo Gigli (b. 1949) took over, designing menswear and launching a womenswear line. In 1997, Moreno Ferrari (b. 1952) succeeded Gigli as creative director. Ferrari designed the Urban Protection range which launched in 1997 and was developed each season until Autumn Winter 2001. The outerwear garments featured built-in technology, including torches, headphones, personal alarms and pollution detectors. Ferrari also designed the Transformables range for Spring Summer 2000 that included several inflatable or transforming garments, such as a coat that turned into a hammock, a jacket that inflated into a chair, and a coat that turned into a kite.

In 2000 Alessandro Pungetti was announced as the company’s new creative director; he remained in this role until 2009 when Wallace Faulds (b. 1979) was appointed by Carlo Rivetti as the new head of design. C.P. Company was sold by Sportswear Company SpA to FGF Industry SpA in 2010. Alessandro Pungetti was reappointed as joint creative director alongside Paul Harvey in 2012. In 2015 FGF Industry SpA sold the company to Tristate Holdings Ltd.
In 2019, the son of Massimo Osti, Lorenzo Osti, was appointed president of C.P. Company. The brand’s flagship store opened in Milan in 2019, followed by new retail locations in Amsterdam in September 2020, Riccione in June 2021 and London in 2022.
Sources: Lodovico Pignatti Moreno, ed., C.P. Company 971-021: An Informal History of Italian Sportswear (London: IDEA, 2021); Italian Collection; WWD.