Ottavio Missoni Italian fashion designer Country: Italy

Biography of Ottavio Missoni

Ottavio Missoni, an Italian fashion designer, founder of the fashion house 'Missoni', renowned for its unique knitwear, and a former track and field athlete, was born in 1921 in Dubrovnik, an ancient city in the south of Croatia, then known as Ragusa.

His father, Vittorio Missoni, was an Italian captain of long-distance navigation, whose father (Ottavio's grandfather), a judge, was transferred from Italy to Dalmatia, which was under the rule of Austria-Hungary at the time. Ottavio's mother, Teresa de' Vidovich Countess di Capocesto e Ragosniza, came from a noble family of mixed Italian and Dalmatian descent.

At the age of 6, Ottavio moved with his parents to Zadar, where he spent his youth. Before World War II, he was an internationally competitive track and field athlete, balancing his time between sports and education. In 1935, Ottavio competed as part of the national team in the 400-meter dash and 400-meter hurdles, winning 8 national titles throughout his career. In 1939, he became the world champion at the student competitions in Vienna.

With the onset of World War II, Ottavio's dreams of a sports career had to be put on hold. He joined the army and in 1942, participated in the Battle of El Alamein and was captured by the Allies. He spent the next 4 years in a prisoner of war camp in Egypt and returned to Italy in 1946, settling in Trieste, where he enrolled at Oberdan High School.

Together with his friend, discus thrower Giorgio Oberweger, Ottavio opened a workshop for making woolen sportswear called 'Venjulia', which in 1948 became the basis for the uniforms of the Italian Olympic team. During a trip to Wembley in 1953, Ottavio met Rosita Jelmini, whose family owned a factory producing scarves and embroidered fabrics in Golasecca, province of Varese. They got married in April 1953 and established a small knitwear workshop in Gallarate, near Rosita's hometown.

In 1958, they presented their first collection, 'Milano-Simpathy', in Milan, which also featured the brand label 'Missoni' for the first time. The business thrived, partly supported by the legendary fashion editor Anna Piaggi, who worked at the magazine 'Arianna'. During a trip to New York in 1965, Rosita met French stylist Emmanuelle Khanh, leading to a collaboration and an entirely new collection the following year. Their fame reached its peak in April 1967 when the Missonis were invited to a fashion show at the Pitti Palace in Florence. Rosita instructed the models to remove their bras as they didn't match the colors and sent them down the runway wearing sheer blouses that became transparent under the spotlights. The show became both a sensation and a scandal.

In the following year, Ottavio was not invited back to Florence, but their business continued to prosper, and in 1969, they built a new factory in Sumirago. Diana Vreeland, the editor of American 'Vogue', played a crucial role in Missoni's success in the United States, and they opened their first boutique at the department store 'Bloomingdales'. In the early 1970s, the Missonis became a highly influential couple in the fashion world, and in 1976, they opened their first boutique in Milan.

Ottavio then began to explore other projects, ranging from designing theatrical costumes to creating tapestries and carpets. His wife, Rosita, headed the family business until the 1990s and gradually passed on the reins to their children. In 1986, Ottavio Missoni was awarded the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic for his contributions.