Rosita Missoni, co-founder of Italian luxury retailer Missoni, has died.
The designer died on Thursday at the age of 93, reports the trade magazine WWD. She founded Missoni in 1953 with her husband Ottavio Missoni, who died in May 2013 at the age of 93.
Rosita Missoni (editor’s note: née Jelmini) was born in 1931 in Golasecca, about 60 kilometers from Milan. Near her birthplace was a shawl and embroidered fabric factory founded by her maternal grandparents, the Torranis. Both her parents, Angelo Jelmini and Diamante Torrani, worked there.
After graduating in modern languages, Rosita Missoni went to London in June 1948 to improve her language skills. There she met Ottavio Missoni, who took part in the Olympic Games there as part of the Italian national athletics team. That same year he opened a knitwear shop with his friend Giorgio Oberweger in Trieste, northeastern Italy. There he offers wool tracksuits that are manufactured in a small factory with a total of four machines. A year later, Rosita Missoni begins to work in the creative area of the family business and follows in her father’s footsteps.
After their wedding in April 1953, Ottavio and Rosita Missoni joined forces and set up a small knitwear workshop in the basement of their house in Gallarate. About five years later they presented a small fashion collection called Milano-Simpathy at La Rinascente, the foundation for today’s brand, in which a colorful striped shirt dress particularly stands out.