C.P. Company

C.P. Company put goggles in a hood in the 1970s and created one of the most distinctive design details in fashion history. Founded in 1975 in Bologna, Italy, the brand pioneered garment dyeing — constructing a finished jacket and then submerging it in color — a technique now used industry-wide. The Goggle jacket is the icon. The fabric research is the foundation. Everything else is just clothes.

Aesthetic & Identity

C.P. Company invented the lens — that goggle viewer built into the hood of their signature jackets, sitting on the chest when the hood is down. It's the most distinctive design detail in outerwear, full stop. The brand's aesthetic is military-industrial utility filtered through Italian garment-dyeing techniques: field jackets, overshirts, and pants in nylon, cotton, and proprietary fabrics that take dye in unpredictable, beautiful ways. The Goggle jacket is the icon, but the broader collection runs deep into functional menswear — cargo pants, knitwear, layering pieces that prioritize material over logo. The brand shares DNA with Stone Island — same founding designer, same commitment to fabric research — but maintains its own identity: slightly more heritage, slightly more Italian, slightly less adopted by street culture.

History & Trajectory

Founded in 1975 in Bologna, Italy. The brand pioneered garment dyeing in fashion — the technique of constructing a garment and then dyeing the finished piece, producing color depth and variation that conventional fabric dyeing can't achieve. The Mille Miglia goggle jacket appeared in the late 70s, drawing from military and automotive references. Throughout the 80s and 90s, C.P. Company built a dedicated following among British casuals alongside Stone Island, though it was always the slightly more refined sibling. Ownership changed hands several times. The brand is now part of the Tristate Holdings group. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest, driven by the broader revival of functional menswear and the growing appreciation for Italian manufacturing craft.

Cultural Footprint

C.P. Company lives in the same terrace culture universe as Stone Island — worn by football casuals across the UK and Europe for decades. The goggle jacket is a subculture uniform: if you know what it is, you know. The brand's influence on contemporary techwear and functional fashion is underacknowledged — the goggle detail has been referenced by dozens of brands, from Nike to Heliot Emil. The garment-dyeing technique that C.P. Company pioneered is now used industry-wide. In the current landscape, the brand benefits from the general trend toward functional, material-focused menswear, but its audience remains niche and loyal rather than broad and trend-driven.

What to Know

The Goggle jacket runs $500-$900, overshirts $300-$500, cargo pants $250-$400, knitwear $200-$400. Available at cpcompany.com, End Clothing, Slam Jam, Oi Polloi, and select European menswear boutiques. Key pieces: the Goggle jacket in any fabric, the Lens overshirt, the garment-dyed cargo pant, and the Chrome-R jacket. Sizing runs true to Italian — slim in the chest and shoulders. The resale market is growing but still accessible compared to Stone Island — most pieces can be found on eBay and Depop at reasonable premiums. The Goggle detail comes in multiple fabric variations each season.