Missoni is a luxury fashion brand that was founded by Rosita and Ottavio Missoni in 1953 in Italy. They are based in Varese, and they are known for their colorful, vibrant, delicate, and lightweight knit designs. Missoni was able to establish itself as a company by combining fractured stripes, patchworks, plaids, mosaics, ethnic effects, and even zigzags along with striking color combinations. In this article, we are going to know more about Missoni, and how they became the luxury fashion brand, they are recognized today.
The Beginnings of Missoni
Ottavio Missoni was a former athletic sprinter, and Rosita Jemini was a language student when they first established the company in 1953. The workshop initially produced tracksuits, but with the help of Rosita’s family, knitting machines became readily available for them. But during that time, knitting machines only knitted vertical and horizontal patterns, that’s why Rosita and Ottavio decided to have the devices reconfigured for them to produce more modern knit designs.
After Ottavio and Rosita got married, the latter chose to become Missoni’s firm business manager. Ottavio, on the other hand, had an extraordinary eye for color, and he used it to arrange color palettes.
Designs that Attract
In 1967, Missoni had their first runway presentation at the Pitti Place in Florence, where they attracted the attention of the audience. Famous fashion writers such as Bernardine Morris and Diana Vreeland were the first people to ever write about the Missoni style. When the 1970s came, the rust-brown Missoni label became well-known all across the world as a status symbol. They have become famous for their artisanal approach and spirited color combinations. The brand also became known for its stripes, waves, jacquard dots, scalloping, and prints design. They are also known for using as much as twenty different materials on their clothes, such as combining cotton, wool, rayon, linen, and silk in about forty different color selections. This was also the time when Missoni opened their booth in Bloomingdales.
The ‘70s was also the decade when Missoni reached its peak of influence in the fashion industry. Tai Missoni became interested in other projects as well, such as designing carpets, tapestries, and costumes for an opera house in Milan named La Scala. In the 1990s, Rosita Missoni said she lost her interest in fashion. That’s why her daughter, Angela, succeeded in her place in the company while she took over Missoni Home in 1998.
In September 2011, Missoni made headlines when Target Stores sell affordable variants of Missoni products on its website and stores. The items were sold out in just 24 hours, and people lined up in long queues outside Target stores and their website overloaded. After selling out, Target did not restock, and some of the items were sold at higher prices on eBay in just a matter of hours after the sale was made.
In the early 2000s, Missoni decided to hire about 250 technicians, craftspeople, administration staff, and of course, designers at their Sumirago, Italy office. Their company displayed experimental knitting methods and scraps of yarn and fabric lines in an abundance of vibrant colors on their factory floor. By this time, Missoni referred to themselves as a working team of artisans, and they work had to protect and nurture their image.
Brands Under Missoni
Missoni brands include Missoni Sport, which is now discontinued, the M Missoni, which is a less expensive fashion line that the company introduced in 1990. The company also owns Missoni Home, which manufactures fabrics since 1981. In 1982, Missoni launched its first perfume in 1982, but today, the license is now owned by Estee Lauder.
In November 2005, Missoni signed a contract together with the Rezidor Hotel Group to create Hotel Missoni with plans to have about 30 hotels open by 2012. However, the hotel agreement between the two ceased in 2014.
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