Published by SEVENSTORE
Author: Millie Throp
In closing out the Locating Menswear Forum held between Manchester and Liverpool, bringing together academics, industry partners, and the public to lessen the gaps in menswear knowledge, it was fitting to close out the series’ past 18-months with an in-store celebration – centred by a reigning pacemaker in functional menswear.
Launching Massimo Osti Studio, a technical diffusion continuing the work of the late, namesake designer, immortalising his efforts in sartorial experimentation throughout the 80s and 90s by inviting a skilled collective to work under his namesake studio, the event toasted to – as Osti’s son and the brand’s “grantor”, Lorenzo Osti, described – “paying tribute to the past whilst looking to the future”. Hence, the label’s collections, or ‘Chapters’, are instilled with contemporary fabrications and quaking functionalities, sitting again at sportswear’s cutting-edge.
With Westminster Menswear Archive’s Professor Andrew Groves involved with the brand whilst pursuing the role of director within the forum, he noted that the meeting of these projects, which “progressed in tandem”, was mutually beneficial. Thus, his chairing the night’s panel talk proved full circle amongst the backdrop of SEVENSTORE’s basement exhibition space, speaking directly with Lorenzo Osti, who admitted his father’s “innovations have left a lasting impact on the industry”. Massimo: a name mentioned many times over the forum’s duration.
As seats in the space became filled with Locating Menswear attendees and Merseyside locals, passing by famed silhouettes from Massimo Osti’s domineering as founder of C.P. Company and Stone Island, SEVENSTORE’s Activation Box stood permeated with the new brand. Its revolutionary iterations shone out, crafted from the likes of Alcantara, Trama 3D, and dynamic Tecnomesh, as panellists began conversing adjacent.
Beside Lorenzo, himself a brand guardian – generating a palpable excitement from the room’s Italian sportswear devotees – sat the outfitter’s Head Designer, Robert Newman, followed by SEVENSTORE’s Head of Creative and personal Osti follower, Daniel Milne. On this shared devotion, Milne noted that “for life-long fans of Massimo Osti, the continuation of his legacy through the namesake label is incredibly significant, ensuring new generations can appreciate his contributions to men’s fashion”.
During the discussion, it was explained that Osti’s father once helmed a design workshop of the same name, crediting the new brand’s fruitions to the skilled hand on his left. Speaking on his carrying of such a legacy, Newman noted the position of the present as their point of differentiation in design. “We’re not referring to when Massimo was designing in the past, we’re referring to now,” he expressed, engendering Osti’s response that “none of us are Massimo”, but with a specialised team “we can achieve a high level [of design] to honour his legacy”. Therefore, meddling with creative risk taking for the sake of moving forwards, he finalised that “nobody knows what my father would be making today: it’s a blank page”.
As the evening resided into further cheering on of menswear progression over drinks provided by Botanical Garden, melodies played out from Dharma Collective. And as attendees familiarised themselves with the new collection alongside the minds behind their making, it appeared sensical to position such conversations in a city at the crux of technical menswear obsession. As Milne justified Osti’s belonging in the area, despite his homeland residing 1300 miles away, “both Bologna and Liverpool share working-class histories where high-quality menswear is appreciated. Osti’s designs emphasise utility and longevity, resonating with the values of cities like Liverpool”. And in a reciprocated appreciation, Osti replied that “the North of England has never stopped supporting my father’s legacy. Being here is both an honour and responsibility”.
Just as Osti’s final exclamation proved that where one door closes another opens, Locating Menswear’s seeming finale felt as apt, looking to a closing instance of enlightenment for its network, this time from the source. “Lorenzo, like Massimo, is very open,” noted Groves. “He encourages others to bring their best. It was wonderful they visited Liverpool to share their insights; the experience was rewarding and insightful for us all”.