Italian Designer Rosita Missoni Dies at 93
Italian fashion designer Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the eponymous fashion house, has died at the age of 93. Missoni launched the business in 1953 with her husband Ottavio, and together they developed a brand known for its colorful knitwear featuring geometric patterns and stripes, including the signature zigzag motif known as fiammato.
Born into a family of textile artisans, Rosita studied modern languages and met Ottavio in London in 1948, where he was competing in the Olympics. The couple went on to gain international recognition for their distinctive patterns and avant-garde use of textiles, earning comparisons to modern art.
The brand gained a reputation for its “battle of the bras” incident in 1967, when models’ bras were visible through their tops, causing a sensation. The incident led to coverage in major fashion magazines, and the brand became synonymous with the “put together” style.
Rosita remained creative director for women’s wear until the late 1990s, when she passed the role to her daughter Angela. The couple suffered a tragic loss in 2013 when their eldest son, Vittorio, was killed in a plane crash off the coast of Venezuela. Ottavio passed away four months later, and the brand expanded into home collections and hotels.
In 2018, the company received a 70 million euro investment from Italian fund FSI in exchange for a 41% stake, aiming to strengthen the brand abroad. In 2023, Missoni appointed Rothschild as its financial adviser to explore a potential sale of the company.