Introduction
Second Edition of Ideas from Massimo Osti, the 432 page monograph published by Corraini and four years in the making, is the definitive look at one of the most influential and secretly revered names in Italian fashion history (copied from the high street to high fashion, his garments are the metaphorical skeleton in the closet of many of the world's most famous designer's studios).
The book tells the story of the so-called "godfather of Sportswear", the man responsible for the brands Stone Island, C.P. Company and Left Hand and inventor of the industry-shifting garment dyeing technique, Raso Gommato and numerous other fabrics still in use today, 20-30 years on; of the intellectual designer who worked from Bologna all his life, inspired as much by the 35000 piece historical garment archive he assembled in his studio as the unique artistic and political ferment of the city throughout the '70s, '80s.
Written and edited by Osti's wife Daniela Facchinato, with more than 1000 images, including 175 newly photographed individual garments from throughout his career (and more than 200 accessories), never seen before sketches, notes, dyeing tests, fabric samples and interviews and appreciations from not only close collaborators such as Carlo Grazia (right-hand man) and Adriano Caccia (of ITS Artea, principal partner for development of new fabric treatments) but also fashion designers Paul Harvey (Stone Island 1995-2005), Sir Paul Smith, Paolo Zegna, Pier Luigi Loro Piana, Francois Gibaud, William Gibson, Errolson Hugh and Aitor Throup, and legendary magazine editors Franca Sozzani (Vogue Italia) and Ashley Heath (The Face, Arena Homme +), the book offers an extremely wide-spanning look at Osti's achievements and influence, contextualizing the designer as a visionary artist working in numerous different formats.
