Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in
Varese
Varese ( , , or ; lmo, label=Varesino, Varés ; la, Baretium; archaic german: Väris) is a city and ''comune'' in north-western Lombardy, northern Italy, north-west of Milan. The population of Varese in 2018 has reached 80,559.
It is the c ...
, and known for its colorful knitwear designs. The company was founded by
Ottavio Ottavio is the Italian form of Octavius. Its feminine given name version is Ottavia. Ottavio may refer to:
Given name
* Ottavio Cinquanta, the President of the International Skating Union
* Ottavio Leoni, Italian painter
* Ottavio Piccolomini, (15 ...
("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953.
History
Early beginnings
The business was founded in 1953, when Ottavio and Rosita Missoni set up a small knitwear workshop in
Gallarate
Gallarate (; Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people.
It is the junction of railways to ...
, Italy.
They presented their first collection under the Missoni label in
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4  ...
in 1958.
The business prospered, with the support of fashion editor
Anna Piaggi, then at ''Arianna'' magazine.
Rosita met the French stylist
Emmanuelle Khanh
Emmanuelle Khanh (12 September 1937 – 17 February 2017) was a French fashion designer, stylist and model. She was particularly known for her distinctive outsize eyewear, and was considered one of the leading young designers of the 1960s New Wav ...
in New York in 1965, which led to a collaboration and a new collection the following year.
In April 1967, they were invited to show at the
Pitti Palace in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...
.
Rosita told the models to remove their
bras, supposedly because they were the wrong color, and showed through the thin
lamé blouses. The material became
transparent under the lights and caused a sensation.
The Missonis were not invited back the following year, but the business grew; a new factory in
Sumirago was built in 1969.
Missoni designs were championed in the US by
Diana Vreeland, editor of American
''Vogue'', and a Missoni boutique was opened in
Bloomingdales.
Missoni reached the peak of its influence in the fashion world in the early 1970s (though has since been the subject of revivals in interest as new generations of fashion writers discovered the appeal of its core knitwear). Tai Missoni then became more interested in other projects, designing
costumes for
La Scala, carpets and
tapestries
Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...
.
Second generation
Rosita Missoni lost interest in fashion in the 1990s and was succeeded by her daughter Angela in 1998 while Rosita took over Missoni Home.
In 1996 the Missonis transferred control of the business to their three children:
Vittorio Missoni became marketing director; Luca (born 1956) was menswear designer until 2008; Angela (born 1958) was womenswear designer, and took over menswear in 2008 when Luca became responsible for the Archive and Events. By 2005, Missoni earned 60 to 70 percent of its revenue from womenswear. From 2007 until 2009, Massimo Gasparini briefly served as the company's CEO, setting up a new organizational structure and streamlining its product offer.
On 13 September 2011, Missoni made headlines briefly when
Target Stores offered low-cost variants of Missoni products in their stores and on their website. Most items sold out within 24 hours, there were long queues outside stores and the Target website was overloaded. Some items appeared at higher prices on
eBay
eBay Inc. ( ) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that facilitates consumer-to-consumer and business-to-consumer sales through its website. eBay was founded by Pierre Omidyar in 1995 and became ...
within hours and Target did not restock.
Death of Vittorio Missoni
On 4 January 2013 a plane carrying
Vittorio Missoni, then CEO of Missoni, went missing off the coast of Venezuela. On 27 June 2013, the Venezuelan government announced that remains of the aircraft had been found north of
Los Roques archipelago. Vittorio's body was recovered along with those of the other passengers.
From 2013, designer
Patricia Urquiola
Patricia Urquiola Hidalgo (born 1961 in Oviedo) is a Spanish architect, industrial designer and art director.
Biography
At age 22, Urquiola left her hometown of Oviedo to attend the Polytechnic University of Milan in architecture. After gradua ...
was responsible for redesigning the label’s stores. In February 2014, Angela Missoni hired
Rossella Jardini, former creative director of
Moschino
Moschino () is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1983 by Franco Moschino in Milan known for over-the-top, campy designs. The company specializes in ready-to-wear, handbags, and fashion accessories.
History Founding and 1990s
Franco ...
, as a consultant.
2018 sale
In 2018, the Missoni family sold a 41.2% stake in the company to investment fund Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI) for €70 million ($82 million), putting the family´s share at 58.8%. A year later, Angela Missoni announced plans to list the company at the
Borsa Italiana
Borsa Italiana, based in Milan, is the Italian stock exchange. It manages and organises domestic market, regulating procedures for admission and listing of companies and intermediaries and supervising disclosures for listed companies.italy24.il ...
within three years.
In 2021, Angela Missoni was succeeded at the helm of the women’s line by Alberto Caliri. The following year, Missoni named
Filippo Grazioli
Filippo is an Italian male given name, which is the equivalent of the English name Philip, from the Greek ''Philippos'', meaning "amante dei cavalli".''Behind the Name''"Given Name Philip" Retrieved on 23 January 2016. The female variant is Fi ...
its new creative director, with Caliri overeeing Missoni Sport and Missoni Home.
Other brands
Missoni Sport
Missoni Sport was initially licensed out to Malerba, brought in-house in January 2002 and eventually discontinued in 2007.
It was relaunched in 2022, now produced in-house as a wellness and comfort line, retailing at around 20 percent less than the signature brand.
M Misssoni
M Missoni, a less expensive line, was introduced in 1998 and initially manufactured and distributed by
Marzotto.
Margherita Maccapani Missoni, granddaughter of Rosita Missoni, served as the label's creative director from 1998 until 2021.
In 2012, Missoni M launched its first accessories collection. Missoni later brought the M Missoni line in-house in April 2018, selecting Italian manufacturing company Gilmar SpA as a production partner for the line. This followed the expiration of the licensing agreement with
Valentino Fashion Group, which had first been signed in 2005.
[Luisa Zargani (March 18, 2021)]
CEO Talks: Missoni’s Livio Proli on Reorganization, Freezing M Missoni Line
''Women's Wear Daily
''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...
''.
By 2019, M Missoni’s sales amounted to around 30 million euros.
Also in 2019,
Margherita Missoni presented her first full collection as the label's creative director. By 2021, M Missoni was discontinued.
Missoni Home
Missoni Home has its roots in furnishing fabrics produced in 1981 in collaboration with Rosita's family firm.
The company launched its first perfume in 1982,
although the license is now held by
Estée Lauder. In 2021, Missoni signed an agreement with
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development Company
Dar Al Arkan Real Estate (DAAR) ( ar, دار الأركان) is a Saudi Arabian property development company. It is the largest developer by market value in Saudi Arabia. Dar Al Arkan is also involved in the acquisition, development, constructio ...
to use its Missoni Home line to decorate the apartments and penthouses of the Urban Oasis, a 38-floor waterfront building under construction by the
Dubai Canal
Dubai Canal is an artificial water canal unveiled on 2 October 2013 and inaugurated on 9 November 2016. The canal side-walk comprises one shopping centre, four hotels, 450 restaurants, luxury housing, walkways and cycle paths. It is a long projec ...
.
Hotel Missoni
In November 2005, Missoni and the
Rezidor Hotel Group signed an agreement to create Hotel Missoni, with plans to have 30 hotels open or in development by 2012. Two Hotel Missoni branches eventually opened in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
(2009) and
Kuwait City (2011). The hotel agreement ceased in 2014, and the Edinburgh hotel was rebranded as
Radisson Collection.
Other activities
In 2017,
Missoni Baia
Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Varese, and known for its colorful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953.
History Early beginnings
The business was founded in 1953, when O ...
, Missoni's first venture into residential real estate development, broke ground in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
. The 249 unit complex will be completed by the end of 2022.
In 2018, Missoni and
Safilo
Safilo Group S.p.A. (acronym of ''Società Azionaria Fabbrica Italiana Lavorazione Occhiali'') is an Italian company that designs, produces and distributes prescription frames, sunglasses, sports eyewear, ski goggles and helmets, and cycling helm ...
entered into a five-year global licensing agreement for the production and distribution of prescription eyewear and sunglass collections for both the main label and M Missoni. In 2019, the company signed a global licensing agreement for the design, production and distribution of watches with
Timex Group.
Campaigns
Over the years, Missoni has commissioned various notable photographers for its ad campaigns, including
Juergen Teller (2010) and
Alasdair McLellan
Alasdair McLellan (born 1974) is a British photographer.
Life and work
McLellan was born in 1974 in Doncaster, South Yorkshire.
He has worked for the fashion press ''Vogue'' UK, ''Vogue Paris,'' '' i-D'', ''Love,'' ''Another Magazine,'' ''Anoth ...
(2013).
Sponsoring and philanthropy
In 2017,
Jennifer Lopez teamed up with Missoni along with Women's Cancer Research Fund and
Saks Fifth Avenue
Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; colloquially Saks) is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street shopping district of Washing ...
to set a fund raise for cancer research. Lopez helped promote the $35 limited-edition Missoni tees, and the profits went to 12 different cancer charities.
References
Further reading
*
{{Portal bar, Fashion, Italy, Companies
Clothing brands of Italy
High fashion brands
Perfume houses
Design companies established in 1953
Clothing companies established in 1953
Italian companies established in 1953
Companies based in Lombardy