Ottavio Missoni

Ottavio Missoni (11 February 1921 – 9 May 2013) was an Italian businessman, founder of the Italian fashion label Missoni and an Olympic hurdler who competed in the 1948 Summer Olympics. Along with his wife Rosita, he was part of the group of designers who launched Italian ready-to-wear in the 1950s, thereby ensuring the global success of Italian fashion.

Early life

Ottavio Missoni was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast. His mother, Teresa de' Vidovich di Capocesto e Rogoznica, was a Dalmatian Countess while his father, Vittorio Missoni, was a Friulian sea captain who moved to Dalmatia while it was under Austrian rule. Through his mother he was a close cousin of Italian politician Renzo de' Vidovich. He was educated in Zadar, Trieste, and Milan.

Sporting achievements

Missoni joined the Italian National Track Team in 1937 at age 16. He won the individual national championship four times. He also competed with the Italian team in the 1948 Summer Olympics. 4x400 metres War service

Missoni served as an infantryman during World War II. In 1942, he fought in the Battle of El Alamein, where he was captured by the Desert Rats and served out the remainder of the War in an English prisoner-of-war camp. She was in the audience at Wembley at the time he was running in the finals. They married five years later on 18 April 1953. Their first son, Vittorio, was born on 25 April 1954. Luca, their second son, was born on 4 July 1956. Their only daughter, Angela was born in 1960.

Fashion

After the war, Ottavio and his team-mate Giorgio Oberweger launched an activewear business in Trieste making wool tracksuits, which they called Venjulia suits. The success of the Venjulia suits, which took into account the need of athletes for functional, warm garments enabling freedom of movement, led to their being worn by the Italian Olympic team in 1948.

In 1953, following his marriage to Rosita (whose family ran a shawl-making business), the Missonis set up Maglificio Jolly, a machine-knitwear workshop in Gallarate. which contributed significantly to the development of Italian sportswear as a challenge to the American industry.

In 1965, Anna Piaggi covered Missoni in an article for Arianna, a magazine published by Mondadori. She continued to actively promote Missoni through her long career as a fashion journalist, including writing their press releases whilst at Vogue Italia in the 1980s. This helped bring Missoni to the attention of the wider world, as did a joint collection with Emmanuelle Khanh in 1965. In 1974, Jennifer Hocking of Harper's Bazaar and Queen selected male and female ensembles by Missoni as the Dress of the Year for the Fashion Museum, Bath. In 1976 Ottavio was named one of the ten most elegant men in the world, sharing the list with Robert Redford and Charles, Prince of Wales.

In 1983, Ottavio and Rosita designed their first stage costumes for a production of Lucia di Lammermoor, starring Luciano Pavarotti, at the La Scala opera house in Milan.

On 1 May 2013, twelve days after marking his and Rosita's 60th wedding anniversary, Ottavio was taken to hospital, but at his request, he went home to be with his family in Sumirago, where during the night of 8 and 9 May, the 92-year-old Ottavio died "serenely".