GOGGLE JACKET PAST AND FUTURE EXHIBITION
20 October 2009
There's a reason why ITS#FIVE Fashion Collection of the Year and i-D Styling Award winner Aitor Throup became a designer. The reason has a name: Massimo Osti. Back in 1989 designer Massimo Osti (founder of CP Company) created the first "Mille Miglia" jacket as part of the CP Company sponsorship involvement in the Mille Miglia Italian open road endurance race. The jacket included a great number of functional details created for the race, from the goggles built in the hood, to the circular window in the left sleeve for the driver to check his watch whilst driving.
That jacket represented what Aitor wanted to do in fashion design. Every construction detail in the "Mille Miglia" was justified, everything had its purpose. Function created design, not viceversa. Aitor still considers the "Mille Miglia" jacket to be "the pinnacle of design". Imagine what he must have thought when Carlo Rivetti (present-day owner of CP Company) asked him to develop a re-worked edition of his own design icon to celebrate 20 years since its release...Dreams come true unexpectedly.
What Aitor did with the "Mille Miglia" jacket was to take it back to the race itself, as he personally states: "I have taken a literal approach to driving ergonomics and functionality, with the aim of creating a piece which is even further informed by its driving concept than the original".
Aitor reconstructed the piece around a human body in driving position, aiming at maximum comfort when driving, which is the purpose of the "Mille Miglia". One of the most incredible features of the jacket is the morphing of the volume in the lower pockets, that changes from normal standing position to driving position, in order to eliminate excess fabric build up when sitting. Sounds complicated? Imagine wearing a heavy jacket with big pockets that stand right on your thighs. Whenever you sit down, the fabric in that area changes position and becomes uncomfortable, with wrinkles that try to adapt to your sitting position, making pockets inaccessible, right? Aitor constructed that whole area in the Mille Miglia jacket so that it changes its shape when you sit down, through a series of zips and snaps. This enables the pockets to stand right where you would want them in driving position, providing a waterproof protection for the legs (most "Mille Miglia" race cars were roadsters...).
As always when talking about Aitor Throup's work, there is more to it than the number of words we can spend here to describe it....Every garment Aitor conceives is a story in itself that makes each piece unique, justified, function-driven. Everything must have a purpose.
The 20th Anniversary "Mille Miglia" Goggle Jacket will be on display at Royal College of Arts from 22 October. Now you know what to do if you're in London.
