Missoni Biography
Missoni (1953 - ) Ottavio Missoni was born in 1921, his growing interest in sport led him to become an international athlete. After World War II, Ottavio started a business with a friend, Giorgio Oberweger, making wool tracksuits. His tracksuits become popular and are chosen by the Italian team for the 1948 Olympics in London. Ottavio later meets Rosita, daughter of a shawl manufacturer. The couple married in 1953 and opened a small knitwear shop in Gallarate, northern Italy. In 1958 the couple presented their first collection in Milan at La Rinascente. The collection called "Milano-Simpatia" consisted of strong colors and stripes. The same year their first daughter Angela was born and in the early 1960s, Missoni dresses began to appear in fashion magazines. In 1965 Anna Piaggi, editor of Arianna magazine, began to take an interest in Missoni. With its support of the brand, Missoni's voice grows. In 1967 Missoni was invited to show at Palazzo Pitti in Florence and received his first cover: the front page of Arianna magazine. At the end of 1967, sales began in Paris and the brand began to be recognized in the United States and in the same year, the French Elle put a drawing of the maison on its front page. The same year the Missonis met Diana Vreeland in Rome, who, impressed by their style, organized meetings with buyers in the United States. This leads to the opening of their first boutique in Bloomingdales, New York in 1970. In 1973, the Missonis receive the "Neiman Marcus Fashion Award" and three years later, Missoni opens a boutique in Milan. In 1979, the company presented its first menswear collection and in the 1980s the first boutiques opened in Paris and New York. In 1986 the Missonis received the "Premio Italia" for printed fabric from the Como Silk Association. Two years later, Ottavio was awarded the "Commendatore al Meriot" of the Italian Republic. In 1998 Rosita handed over the management of the business to her daughter Angela. The same year a new line for men and women "M Missoni" was created. A retrospective exhibition containing more than 100 archive pieces was dedicated to the maison, on display at the Yoyogi Stadium in Tokyo and at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
