| Rosita Missoni | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rosita in 2019 | |
| Born | Rosita Jelmini (1931-11-20)20 November 1931 Golasecca, Italy |
| Died | 1 January 2025(2025-01-01) (aged 93) Sumirago, Italy |
| Occupations |
|
| Board member of | Missoni |
| Spouse |
Ottavio Missoni
(m. 1953; died 2013) |
| Children | 3, including Vittorio |
| Website | www |
Rosita Missoni (née Jelmini; 20 November 1931 – 1 January 2025) was an Italian knitwear designer. She and her husband Ottavio Missoni co-founded Italian luxury fashion house Missoni.
Early life
Rosita Jelmini was born in Golasecca, northern Italy, on 20 November 1931. Her family were textile artisans based in the Milan region who specialized in the manufacture of shawls
Career
She met Ottavio Missoni in 1948 when he was participating in the London Olympics, and married him in 1953.
In 1953, she and Ottavio started a small knitwear store in Gallarate. The business would become the fashion house Missoni. They later moved to Sumirago where they built a factory. They were part of a group of Italian designers whose ready-to-wear clothing became popular globally in the 1950s and 1960s. The brand became famous for its colorful knitted garments with zigzag patterns, made on "Raschel" machines like those used by Rosita Missoni's family for making shawls. Rosita Missoni cites Sonia Delaunay as one of her inspirations.
From 1997, the couple's children, Angela, Luca, and Vittorio Missoni, took over the management of the fashion house, sharing the creative and financial aspects, while Rosita Missoni developed Missoni Home and dedicated herself to interior design by reusing old patterns.
Personal life and death
She and Ottavio Missoni married in 1953. They had three children, all of whom became involved with the Missoni business; their son, Vittorio Missoni, was CEO until his death in a plane crash in 2013. Ottavio Missoni died later that year.
Rosita Missoni lived in a house in Sumirago since 1970, which she decorated in a colourful and exuberant way, with a certain proportion of pieces found at flea markets. She regularly received journalists there.
Missoni died at her home in Sumirago on 1 January 2025, at the age of 93.
References
- Blazio-Licorish, Tonya (2 January 2025). "Rosita Missoni Matriarch, Cofounder and Designer of the Missoni Luxury Brand Dies at 93 [PHOTOS]".
- ^ Wertheim, Bonnie (2 January 2025). "Rosita Missoni, Who Turned Zigzag Sweaters Into High Fashion, Dies at 93". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
- ^ "Rosita Missoni, cofondatrice avec son époux de la maison de mode éponyme, est morte à 93 ans". Franceinfo (in French). 2 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- Champenois, Sabrina (3 January 2025). "Mode : avec la disparition de Rosita Missoni, l'Italie perd sa reine de la maille". Libération. Archived from the original on 3 January 2025. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ Conlon, Scarlett (2 January 2025). "Italian fashion designer and 'colour genius' Rosita Missoni dies aged 93". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- "Les nuances de Rosita Missoni pour le printemps à la maison". Madame Figaro (in French). 22 May 2017. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- ^ Conlon, Scarlett (3 April 2022). "Inside the joyful Lombardy home of Rosita Missoni". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 9 January 2025.
- "Addio a Rosita Missoni, con lei il mito delle trame multicolori". 2 January 2025. Archived from the original on 4 January 2025. Retrieved 4 January 2025.