The Romantic Origins of Missoni

Missoni, Italian Fashion House

Rosita and Ottavio Missoni

The famous Italian fashion house, Missoni, made knitwear modern. Feted everywhere for its bright, colorful designs, this huge family-run business has romantic origins.

It all began when Ottavio Missoni, the son of an Italian sea captain and a Serbian countess, went to London in 1948 to compete in the 400 meter hurdles at the Olympic Games. He had his own very small knitwear company and designed the tracksuits for the Italian Olympic team.

During the war, Ottavio had been captured by the British in 1942 at El Alamain and held as a prisoner of war until 1946. He referred to himself jokingly as 'a special guest of the King of England'.

Missoni Fashion Uomo

Rosita, sent to study English in Italian, set her sights on the handsome, young Olympic swimmer. She told Marcus Fairs at Icon Magazine that: "He was gorgeous and I dreamed of meeting him!" They met outside London's Piccadilly station to go on their first date, arranged by a friend, and they married five years later.

As Rosita had worked in her family's small embroidery company, she was a skilled seamstress and knew about design, so she and Ottavio decided to start their own knitwear business. This was begun in the basement of their first home in Galesseca with only a few old knitting machines. They began by selling their designs to other labels, but they decided to start their own fashion house.

Surprisingly, Missoni had a tough time getting their colorful designs with their trademark zigzags and stripes noticed, but soon their hard work paid off. Their innovative fashions caught the eye of Anna Piaggi, the famous Italian fashion journalist, in 1965, and she praised them in her articles.

Missoni Dress and coat

Real success came, however, in 1967, when Missoni was showing their collection at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence. Rosita told her models to remove their bras because they ruined the line of the black jersey dresses that they were wearing. Under the bright catwalk lights, the material became transparent, and the shocking sight of the see-through dresses became headline news around the world! Th e models were screamed at and sent away, but Saint Laurent introduced the nude look six months later.

A few years later, the famous and influential Vogue editor, Diana Vreeland, noticed the striking range of Missoni fashions, and offered to launch them in America. " Who is talking about colors these days? There are only shades!" she remarked, when she saw the attractive designs.

Missoni won the prestigious Neiman Marcus award for its fashions in 1973, widely regarded as being 'the Oscar of fashion', and the International Design Award in New York by the Fashion Group International for "having influenced in a decisive manner the field of fabric and fashion design, creating an unmistakable style." It had come a long way from its origins as a tiny company with designs made on a few knitting machines in the basement.

Missoni Fashion Donna

Today Missoni is a large fashion house which has diversified into articles for the home, carpets, footwear, perfume, and even luxurious hotels. It has stores in cities all over the world, including New York and Paris, as well as Italy. Many movie stars still wear Missoni's stylish clothes, including Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Ashley Judd and Madonna.

The business is still family-run from the Missoni home and factory located north of Milan. Rosita and Ottavio had three children, Angela, Vittorio and Luca. Vittorio is Missoni's Marketing Director. Angela runs the women's wear section and is famous for bringing a new and younger look to the casual fashions with their light materials, and introduced ad campaigns photographed by highly regarded Mario Testino. Luca is in charge of menswear.

Rosita and Ottavio's granddaughter, the stunning Margherita recently launched the new Missoni scent, Missoni Profumi. This has caused a huge sensation because it is the label's first fragrance in 25 years. An acting and philosophy student, Margherita also models for Missoni and has traveled around the world promoting the new scent.

Missoni Fragrance

As the new younger generation play more of a part in continuing this very special family business, it seems that Missoni has a bright future ahead with its many different fashion lines. Ottavio and Rosita can rightly be very proud of their famous company, which started as a dream of Ottavio's. "I am the creator of Missoni, but Rosita made me," he told The Dallas Morning News.

By Lisa-Anne Sanderson

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The Romantic Origins of Missoni

Missoni, Italian Fashion House

Missoni