A "great loss" for Italy Italian fashion designer Rosita Missoni has died
Colorful knitwear with the typical zig-zag patterns - they are considered the trademark of the Italian fashion label Missoni. The co-founder of the brand, Rosita Missoni, has now died at the age of 93.
02.01.2025, 19:32
dpa
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- The Italian fashion entrepreneur and co-founder of the luxury brand Missoni, Rosita Missoni, has died.
- The regional president of the northern Italian region of Lombardy, Attilio Fontana, confirmed the death of the 93-year-old on Thursday.
- Missoni's death was a "great loss" for Italy, Lombardy and her home province of Varese, explained Fontana.
The Italian fashion designer Rosita Missoni is dead. The co-founder of the fashion house of the same name died on Thursday at the age of 93, a spokesperson for the brand told Deutsche Presse-Agentur, citing Missoni's family. The fashion entrepreneur became famous above all for her colorful knitwear collections.
Together with her husband Ottavio Missoni, she founded the company in 1953. The couple opened their first store that year in Gallarate near Milan and produced knitwear. They subsequently developed it into a successful label. Knitwear with typical zig-zag patterns and bold colors has always been the company's trademark.
Entrepreneur couple met in London
Rosita Missoni was born in Golasecca in Lombardy in 1931 into a family of textile craftsmen. When she traveled to London in 1948 to learn English, she met her future husband Ottavio, who competed in the 400-metre hurdles at the 1948 Olympic Games there. Inspired by his successes, the two of them initially mainly produced sportswear.
The company gradually expanded and moved its headquarters to Sumirago in the province of Varese, where Rosita Missoni came from. In 1966, the couple presented their first collection in Milan, which brought the brand international renown. Today, it is a well-known, internationally operating company with many boutiques worldwide.
Well-known Italian family business
Missoni and her husband handed over the management of the company to their children in 1997. The couple suffered a heavy blow in 2013 when their eldest son Vittorio and his wife died in a small plane crash off the coast of Venezuela. Today, daughter Angela is the creative director of the company and son Luca has technical responsibilities. Father Ottavio died in 2013 at the age of 92.