In Sumirago, a suburb of Varese in Lombardy, where the verdant surrounds sit in the shadow of the famously pastel-tinted Monte Rosa, Rosita Missoni is describing the scene outside her window the sky is a bright blue and the mountain is white,” she says because of this fabulous view – and why my husband insisted on big windows everywhere.” the Italian fashion house famous for its joyful zig-zag knits Rosita established Missoni with her late husband Ottavio in 1953 and it grew into one of Italy’s most recognisable and celebrated exports where they could nurture their business and their young family away from the urban bustle was the most important priority for the couple Mountain air: the pool with spectacular views Photograph: Sommariva/Salerni/Living Inside“Generally at the time everyone was going nearer to Milan and big cities but we wanted to have nature around us,” Rosita explains “It was 1970 and things were going very well for us at the time and so we decided to build our own factory My husband started asking around to see if there were places where we could get some nice space and when I came here I was totally in love with what he had found My husband and I had a very optimistic view of life in that moment we were very happy and this became the place of our lives.” A joyous sense of celebration permeates Rosita’s house ‘My home is my nest,’ she saysIf there is one word to describe the Missoni aesthetic and dynasty Aside from the jubilant colour palettes and invigorating prints for which it is famed the family’s close-knit bond and zest for life is legendary If they’re not travelling the world together they are hosting candlelit fashion-week parties for hundreds of guests and publishing family cookbooks to share their favourite recipes Fifty years on from building their forever home the magnetism of the mountain town has kept Rosita’s family close by Angela and Luca – who both held senior roles at the fashion brand until last year – along with their children and grandchildren all live within 10 minutes’ drive and pop in regularly to share meals La dolce vita: huge windows bring the outside into the airy dining room Photograph: Sommariva/Salerni/Living InsideThis sense of celebration permeates Rosita’s home which is like her three-dimensional autobiography a book or a trinket that transports her back to a specific time and place white walls and terracotta floors act as canvases for Missoni Home textiles for which 90-year-old Rosita continues to serve as creative director There are hundreds of treasures on display: Rosita says there are no rules as to what makes it in here “I just have to like it.” Many of the huge pieces of art were collected by the couple as gifts to one another before Ottavio died in 2013 but at that time I decided I could offer myself this painting,” she explains Sleep tight: numerous paintings jostle for space in Rosita’s bedroom Photograph: Sommariva/Salerni/Living InsideElsewhere where she enjoys her life-long passion of watching sports – she and her husband met at the 1948 London Olympics where he was competing in the 400m hurdles – huge family portraits sit above a sumptuous sofa covered in her signature Missoni Home Neuss pattern The same fabric is used on all her seating Does she think the ongoing popularity of her homewares line is a result of it being so feelgood and happy A flea-market addict – something she delights in having passed down to her daughter and granddaughters – Rosita can regularly be found seeking out objects wherever she may be to satisfy her appetite for a curiosity to bring home “I never know what’s going to come into my life “I started collecting these when they were quite inexpensive I went for inspiration for my work and my home and these were very inspiring.” The collector in Rosita shows no sign of slowing down she has just returned home from a trip to Egypt with daughter Angela where “Our luggage was so overweight because I came back with so much,” she says “I have to decide where I want them around “I love things that remind me of trips,” she says “I have had the privilege of living a long life and I take great pleasure in sharing our home.” This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker The Missoni family asks that donations be made in lieu of flowers to Camphill Special School in Glenmore, PA. To gift, visit the “donate now” section at www.camphillspecialschool.org.MARIA DENARDO  Seating you front row, taking you backstage & catapulting you into the world of fashion. Stalk us on twitter @DailyFrontRow, follow us at FashionWeekDaily.com and always be seated front row. GET OUR HAUTEST STORIES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX! @2023 - Daily Front Row. All Right Reserved. This runway image is particularly poignant, as this show went on just one month after Vittorio's plane went missing. In a statement, a spokesman confirmed the co-founder's death. "The Missoni family announces that Ottavio Missoni passed away peacefully at home at the age of 92, surrounded by his family. The day and time of his burial will be communicated soon." Ottavio founded Missoni in the 1950s with his wife, Rosita. The tonal palette of the men’s collection seemed inspired by nostalgia for spending time in the country and for the immersive sense of protection nature can provide. “In this particular moment we crave to be comforted and cuddled,” said Angela. “So I wanted to give the collection the most tactile of finishes. If we can’t be hugged by another human being, at least let’s get ourselves hugged by the softest, most stroke-able sweater ever.” Missoni’s inventive knitwear techniques made every piece feel as smooth and silky as cashmere. Lambswool was boiled and “crushed” to break the fibers and make them more pliable; textures were kept looser and less compact for a malleable feel; mixes of viscose, techno wool, and mohair were treated to achieve extreme plasticity. Moncler 7 FRGMT Hiroshi Fujiwara Fall 2021 Menswear founder of the global family fashion empire that spawned the no-bra look and revolutionized textile patterns with its trademark bold stripes and zig-zag patterns commonly known by his nickname "Tai," died during the night in the northern town of Sumirago at the family home next to the company's factory co-founder of the colourful fashion brand Missoni Pictured: Ottavio Missoni and granddaughter Margherita Missoni during Milan Design Week on April 16 Italy.TodayBy By Isla BinnieOttavio Missoni founder of the global family fashion empire that spawned the no-bra look and revolutionized textile patterns with its trademark bold stripes and zig-zag patterns commonly known by his nickname "Tai," died during the night in the northern town of Sumirago at the family home next to the company's factory He had been recently hospitalized for heart problems I like to paraphrase a song by Mina: 'colors colors'," Milan Mayor Giuliano Pisapia in one of many tributes praised his cheerful disposition and said the company had made a major contribution to raising the global profile of all things made in Italy The Missoni Summer 2013 collection is modeled on the runway The brand was known for its colorful zig-zag patterns.TodayMissoni who was born of Italian parents in what is now Dubrovnik whom he met while competing in the 1948 London Olympics His promising early athletic career was interrupted by World War II fighting on the Italian side in the Battle of El Alamein was captured by the British and held as a prisoner of war for four years in Egypt saying that he was a guest of His Majesty the King of Britain," Rosita said during an interview with Reuters last May "I started running again with the little that was left in me because naturally after four years as a prisoner of war I was not in top physical form but I must have had something left in me and I won the Italian (4 X 400) title and was chosen to go to the Olympics," he said The pair married in 1953 and made track suits in a small workshop near Rosita's home village and later presented their first knitwear collection in Milan in 1958 just at the beginning of what came to be known as Italy's economic miracle "We started making a profit after 10 years of activity and that day I felt like the richest man in the world," Ottavio said Breaking rulesTheir designs caught the attention of a fashion world that was turning away from high fashion towards "ready-to-wear" styles and they made a high-profile collaboration in 1965 with designer Emmanuelle Kahn "We tried to break the rules...we lived in very favorable times because it was the beginning of what then came to be called Pret-a-Porter," Rosita said The Missonis tore up the rule book in 1967 with what become known as the "battle of the bras" sitting in his study full of sketches and sheets 1968.Mondadori / TodayRosita had told models to remove their bras before sending them onto the runway at a major show in Florence so that the colors of the bras would not show through the knitwear But the bright lights at the shows made the outfits transparent The Missonis were not invited back but the incident became a cause celebre and soon afterwards Missoni appeared on the covers of international fashion magazines including Vogue The brand is now a dynasty that designs everything from sweaters to sheets to hotels The founders' children and several grandchildren took over managing the company in 1996 aiming to relaunch the brand and attract a larger younger market as rivals Gucci and Burberry have done The family's oldest son, company head of marketing Vittorio, is believed to have died in January when a small plane that was also carrying his wife and four others disappeared off the coast of Venezuela while they were on holiday. Today, the company Ottavio and Rosita founded on a shoestring employs about 250 people and in 2011 had revenue of more than 150 million euros ($197.60 million). Apple logo® and App Store® are registered trademarks of Apple Inc The Missoni co-founder "passed away peacefully" in the early hours of this morning at his home in Sumirago A wake will be held on Sunday May 12 in the Missoni company courtyard while the funeral will take place on Monday May 13 in the Basilica di Santa Maria Assunta He fought for the Italian army during World War II but was made a prisoner of war in Egypt for four years He represented Italy in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Olympic Games in London - for which he had also created the wool tracksuits worn by his Italian teammates While in the capital for the sporting event under the Eros statue in London's Piccadilly the same year that they founded their eponymous label "I've never done what was fashionable," he told WWD in February 2011 "I didn't want to work with preset schemes Missoni founded the fashion brand known for zigzag-patterned knitwear with his wife with the couple's children and their offspring involved in expanding the brand Tragedy struck the family earlier this year when the fashion patriarch's eldest child disappeared with his wife and four others while flying in a small plane during a vacation to a Venezuelan island Missoni gave no cause of death for the patriarch saying only that Ottavio had "passed away serenely" in his home in the town of Sumirago on Thursday there haven’t been too many celebs in Milan but when we spotted the legendary American record producer we had a few questions for the man who knows EVERYBODY…    What brings you here?My oldest friends in the world are the Missoni’s Daughters don’t allow daddies to have hair Where are you staying while in Italy?With the Missoni’s in Sumirago Where do you like to dine while you’re here?Oh my god there is a place right next to them in Sumirago it was the best food I ever had in my life We had sardines and I had linguine vongole…all my favorite stuff Where do you vacation in the winter?In the winter But I was in Stockholm for 10 days because I’ve been going there for a long time I see the doctors over there at the Karolinska Hospital and they make sure I’m OK I’ve also been to the South of France and next I’m going to Dubai and Abu Dhabi Who are some of your favorite new artists?John Legend and Bruno Mars I was at John’s recent wedding at a villa in Lake Como Do you ever go to Paris?I used to live there I used to live in Neuilly [Neuilly-sur-Seine] right next to the American Hospital I started there with Nadia Boulanger and I ran a record company called Barclay Records so there were people there like Charles Aznavour Catherine Deneuve…we had good times. I also lived in St Tropez in ’57 and we lived right next door to Picasso and his wife Jacqueline.  Before it was what it became today Then girls stopped wearing bras and all of that How crazy that you knew Picasso! We became good friends What was Picasso’s house like?It was a huge villa but I used to see goats and ducks on the third floor of his place Jacqueline would write to me on the back of cards that Picasso painted taking you backstage & catapulting you into the world of fashion follow us at FashionWeekDaily.com and always be seated front row GET OUR HAUTEST STORIES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open You are visiting us because we have something you value Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more. ITALIAN KNITWEAR IMPRESARIO Ottavio “Tai” Missoni an innovator whose distinctive colourful zigzag dresses became a global fashion empire Missoni co-founded the fashion brand in 1953 with his wife Rosita Jelmini and their designs have graced the rich and famous over the years – from Jackie Kennedy to the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton He had been hospitalised with heart trouble last week and died peacefully surrounded by his family in his villa in Sumirago in northwest Italy where he and the company have been based for decades “The rainbow that sprang from his creations gave us the impression of a happy man who managed to bring his fashion to a global audience,” said Milan mayor Giuliano Pisapia “The jumpers and dresses he created have given him eternity,” he said adding that Missoni had “rendered great the Made in Italy brand” The family said there will be a lying-in state on Sunday in the courtyard of his textile factory in Sumirago and the funeral will be on Monday Missoni was born in the then-Yugoslavia in what is now Dubrovnik on 11 February 1921 and after moving to Italy he initially began a career in track athletics – a sport he pursued into old age He became a national champion before World War II and took part in the 1948 London Olympics Ottavio Missoni comes in sixth during the hurdles at the 1948 Olympics in London (Image: S&G/S&G and Barratts/EMPICS Sport) he fought in the Battle of El-Alamein and was held as a prisoner of war whose family owned a textile business in northern Italy The Missoni brand quickly earned a reputation for testing new boundaries in the 1960s and was kicked out of the Pitti fashion shows in Florence when its models did not wear bras on the catwalk jovial man who told one interviewer that the geometric patterns on his dresses “were like that simply because we had machinery that could only make straight lines” He also ascribed the patterns to the squares in the exercise books he used to design them But the company kept up a reputation for innovation in recent years and was the first to delve into the mass market through a successful partnership with US mega-store chain Target It also followed other major Italian fashion chains in setting up branded hotels in different cities including Edinburgh and Kuwait which exports around 80 per cent of its production Missoni continued to work at the company until his death although he had handed managerial responsibility to his two sons and daughter He suffered tragedy earlier this year when a plane carrying his eldest son and five other people went missing on a flight from the Venezuelan island resort of Los Roques The 58-year-old is now feared dead and those who knew him best were quoted by Italian media saying his father had not been himself since and had refused to talk about it with the family Create an email alert based on the current article one of Italy's most respected fashion dynasties to find out what it's like to work in a family business that has three generations working side by side who has recently produced her first full accessories collection may be a glamorous one – but the issues raised by working together will be familiar to anybody with a family firm "I won't speak if I have to be interviewed at the same time as them," says Margherita "If they are around I can't talk really the way I want to." There is nothing unusual about needing to break away from your family in order to express yourself Her mother did the same when she was younger But although Margherita may not want to be interviewed with them she doesn't mind having them around otherwise As soon as she enters her grandmother's house Margherita flops on to the sofa next to her with the familiarity of a small child Rosita adjusting Angela's top to make sure it is hanging well both turning their eyes on Margherita to make sure everything is draped correctly before the photographs are taken Margherita brushing away her mother's hand with an instinctive gesture of independence while her mother Angela smiles at her indulgently There is no shortage of fashion dynasties in Italy and most have colourful pasts was notorious for infighting in the early years after it was founded in 1921 and run by Guccio Gucci with his sons: there were disputes over inheritances stockholdings and day-to-day operation of the stores (Today the company is largely owned by LVMH.) Then there are the Versaces: Gianni was murdered in Miami in 1997 prompting a period of soul-searching within the family His sister Donatella now runs the company with a 20% shareholding while the chairman is her other brother Santo vital face and darting eyes belie her approaching 80th birthday Rosita grew up in a family that owned a factory producing shawls and a passionate gardener and lover of flowers whose aesthetic has run through the generations showing itself in combinations of colour and patterns that have almost a floral quality at the 1948 Olympic games in London – he was an athlete who made it to the final of the 400m hurdle race He also had a small knitting factory that produced the Italian Olympic team tracksuits they bought some yarn-spinning machines that Rosita realised would give them far more creative potential with colour and pattern The first dress sold under the name of Missoni came out in 1958 a knitted shift on which the weave was complex creating the Missoni look – a dazzle of colours and patterns in finely woven yarns that prompted Diana Vreeland to exclaim: "Who said there are only colours work and family life have always been intertwined Rosita and Tai set up the business in the basement of their first home they moved to the countryside outside Sumirago in the foothills of the Alps in north-west Italy "Tai said we should work where we would like to spend the weekends," Rosita explains the family house in a forest of oak and birch overlooking the pink-tinged peaks of Monte Rosa on the horizon Over the years they acquired more and more land and built up what Angela calls the Missoni compound "It took 17 separate contracts," Rosita recalls and so "when the children had grown up and built their own families they decided to come and live in their own houses here." (Her sons also work for the company.) Surrounded by gardens with children and grandchildren dropping in Rosita's children were all married in this house and it was here that the Missonis decided to hold fashion shows in the early days: "We held the menswear shows here – we covered over the tennis courts to do it and served dinner In those days Florence was the centre of Italian fashion – no one came to Milan "We lived at a fantastic moment," she adds recalling the late 1960s and the birth of pret-a-porter "Mix and match became our look and we experimented with all sorts of weaves and methods – space dyeing As the family grew and the company thrived Tai and Rosita influenced the direction of fashion as casually as they let their children play in the factory "The factory was our playground," says Angela "just as it has been for my children." Margherita says: "I went to my first fashion show at the age of two grandmother and I all have different styles Rosita remains very much involved in the company – "She is incredible she has as much energy as I do" says Margherita – but handed over creative direction to her youngest child Missoni had enjoyed global success but the 1980s saw a slump as the sharp edges and sculpted shoulders of the decade failed to chime with the Missoni label's soft lines Margherita takes up the story: "My grandmother has always said fashion is for the young or the extremely passionate By then she had had enough and she didn't think it was right to go on like that." But Angela had long ago strayed from the family firm: "I was such a rebel when I was younger," she says "I wanted to prove myself away from them That was my great passion and I had three while I was quite young Each time I was pregnant I looked for new projects; I started a children's nursery and even looked into having an organic chicken farm." But the apple had not fallen far from the tree and by 1992 "All my clothes were plain blocks of dark colours – no colours or patterns Then after I had done about five collections of my own my mother said: 'What you are doing is how I want Missoni to look now.'" But it was Tai who really decided it "I rarely went to my father for help," says Angela "but he gave me great advice." Tai Missoni told his daughter that if she chose to work for Missoni there was no reason she had to work with her mother every single day found the brand was in her blood: "We have all grown up within the company not something we have to study to understand." But she feels that being the youngest child saved her from parental expectations "They were very supportive of me staying home with the kids," she says Angela seems relaxed around both her mother and her eldest daughter But she says: "I was worried for Margherita I know it can be quite heavy to have this heritage So I was happy to give her space to make her own decisions I am very glad that she has made her own choice to come into the company – and at only 26 she cites her grandmother as her biggest influence "She has been almost a second mother to me I spent a very big part of my childhood with her: on holidays around the world Most of my aesthetic has been passed on to me directly by her "I think because my mother was so rebellious and gave her no chance she poured all her high standards into me instead." Margherita's parents divorced when she was seven and she rebelled she went to the US to study philosophy and then acting "I wanted to make it on my own," she says "so I moved to New York for five years "It can be suffocating to be part of such a strong clan – one might feel one only exists as part of that and not as an individual People expect things of you when you have this name." Margherita was eventually intrigued by it too "For years I used to worry very much about my grandmother's judgment [about my joining the label]," she explains I have much less of a hard time being around them on a daily basis – although working with your family can be tough in any case One tends to expect much more from the people we love But I know I wouldn't be where I am today if I wasn't part of this family there is something that has to do with the notion of belonging to a clan and somewhere there is also a chip related to pride I realise with age that priorities change and I have a great passion for Missoni," she says "Sometimes I refer to my family as my biggest blessing in life – it has definitely saved me a few times by keeping me grounded You have a reason to go home at night when you have a grandma to call on Sunday morning And knowing there is a place where they love you unconditionally where you can always go back to no matter what