Rosita Missoni, the matriarch of the iconic Italian fashion house that made colorful zigzag-patterned knitwear high fashion and helped launch Italian ready-to-wear, died on Thursday, 2 January 2025 at the age of 93.
Born Rosita Jelmini, Missoni grew up in a family that owned a textile factory that produced shawls. When she met and married Ottavio Missoni, they founded their unique fashion house in Gallarate that would turn into a fashion dynasty, with the couple’s three children and their offspring involved in expanding the brand.
The Missonis first showed their collection in Milan in 1966 and the brand helped turn the city into a fashion mecca. Their signature fashions, with the trademark graphic zigzags, long had a reputation for wearability and for surviving many seasons of changing trends. Family members were often the brand’s best models, wearing Missoni graphic creations in everyday life.
In 2018, the family sold a 41.2%-stake to the Italian investment fund FSI, but maintained majority control of the house.
Rosita’s husband, Ottavio, died at age 92 in May of 2013.