For an all-round creative, being confined to one category of reference sounds like a human and social limitation.

Challenging the collectively accepted rules is an act of courage that speaks volumes about a personality as a whole, not just his work.

Before becoming the Massimo Osti that Arena Homme+ magazine named "the most influential menswear designer of the 1990s" in 1999, the Bologna-born designer had to build his persona with a constantly evolving attitude of rupture.

Massimo's work and life were a unique sphere, driven by the desire to question everything and to rebalance himself according to his visions. He did not like the spotlight and being the centre of attention, far from it. He was often reserved, silent and a fascinated observer of what went on around him.

In the end, his clothes and all his creative projects were merely a reflection of his evolving personality, a lover of beauty and of life in its most essential values.

'For Massimo, friendship had a total value. It was a dimension of his being in the world. He had such a grace in friendship that he did not make friends jealous of each other, as often happens because of human weakness,' recalls the philosopher Stefano Bonaga.

Massimo Osti's genius lay in his constant willingness to be contaminated and to establish lasting relationships with people far removed from his professional world, but very close to him culturally and socially. Among them were Lucio Dalla, Andrea Pazienza, Gabriele Salvatores, Filippo Scozzari, Stefano Benni, Andrea Renzini, Tanino Liberatore, Luca Carboni and many others.

He did not come from the fashion industry, but from the world of advertising, where graphic communication defines the message to be conveyed. Massimo did this in the most expressive and individual way possible, focusing on products that could appeal to a wide, cultured and sophisticated audience.

Massimo loved to confront and discover a new part of the world to incorporate into his avant-garde inventions. Each of his projects was a container of all his ideas and influences, to which he paid maniacal attention to every detail. For him, nothing was created by chance. Everything had a functional purpose, which had to intersect with his in-depth study of shapes, fabrics and production technologies.

Massimo's discretion as a man led him to categorically reject the frenetic Milan centrality, an elite system often supported by more superficial, glossy relationships created only for personal gain. He disliked fashion shows because they represented a partial vision of the product, distant and almost "inhuman". Contrary to what the fashion industry seemed to impose on him, a cynical entrepreneur-designer approach, the real challenge for Massimo was to put his creativity at the service of as many people as possible. He loved to immerse himself in the 'forgotten' urban realities and social project contexts.