Rosita Missoni, Co-Founder of Famed Eponymous Fashion House, Dies at 93

Rosita Missoni, co-founder of the Italian fashion house Missoni, has died. She was 93.

Attilio Fontana, president of the northern Italian region of Lombardy confirmed her death per the AFP, writing in a statement: "The passing of Rosita Missoni, a Lombard stylist and entrepreneur known throughout the world, saddens us. A great loss for Italy, Lombardy and for the province of Varese where she was born and lived."

Missoni co-founded the fashion house — famous for bright, geometric knitted designs — alongside her husband Ottavio. The brand’s signature colorful zigzag designs were praised by Fontana as well as New York Times fashion journalist Bernadine Morris, who said in 1977 that they had "elevated knitting to an art form."

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The daughter of shawl manufacturers from northern Italy, Rosita was born in 1931 in the Lombard town of Golasecca. She met Ottavio, known as Tai, in 1948, when he was competing in the London Olympics.

The then Rosita Jelmini was on an English language course chaperoned by the Swiss Sisters of the Holy Cross. Rosita recalled being instantly struck by Tai, per Women’s Wear Daily (WWD),

“After visiting castles and museums, the nuns concurred that a trip to Wembley [where the Olympics were being held] was a must.”

“That’s when I saw Tai; he passed right alongside me, and I couldn’t help but notice how good-looking and athletic he was. And I predicted he would win because he was racing with the number 331 on his sports bib and seven [adding the digits] had always been my lucky number.”

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After marrying in 1953 in Golasecca, the pair worked on knits from the basement of their new home in Gallarate. "When I got married, four sewing machines arrived with my husband," Rosita Missoni told AFP in a 2016 interview.

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Rosita noted to WWD that the brand’s signature designs came about by accident. “We could only do stripes, and then we started doing horizontal and vertical and little by little added more complicated stitches, plaids and jacquards,” she said.

The brand’s big break came in 1953 when the Milanese department store Rinascente ordered hundreds of striped Missoni dresses. Their fame was assured in 1967 when their models didn't wear bras during a presentation at Florence’s Pitti Palace. The scandal secured the reputation of the brand and their fame skyrocketed.

Famous names who have worn the label include Cate Blanchett, Kerry Washington and Nicole Richie. The brand even went mass market in 2011 with a hot-selling Target collaboration that generated huge interest.

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Rosita and Tai lived and raised their children — Vittorio, Angela and Luca — near their Sumirago factory in Lombardy.

Rosita handed over the reins of the fashion house to her daughter Angela in 1997, opting to devote herself to the label’s eponymous homewear line. Angela brought her daughter Margherita Maccapani Missoni into the fold as well. Angela later relinquished the creative director title.

Vittorio Missoni died in a plane crash in January 2013 and in May of that year his father Tio also passed away at age 92.

Margherita shared a sweet Instagram tribute for her grandmother's 93rd birthday in November.

"Elective affinities- we saw each other, we chose each other," she began the carousel showing a number of photos of the duo together. "She moulded me to her liking (@missbrunello had always been too much of a rebel to achieve that), she forged my aesthetic to the point that we always end up matching without planning. She cared for me for 40 long years and I am now grateful for having the chance to do my little part for her too. Happy 93rd birthday to my marvelous Nonna Rosita."

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