Layers upon Layers

In Milan stores are already filled with autumn clothes, I love looking at sweaters, coats, fur vests at the end of July, it makes me pondering on what I'd like to look like this autumn 2009. Window shopping is very inspirational, it puts you in the mood to sew and create something new and one-of-a-kind..This year I would like to play on big, chunky layers (like nobody had done it before, right!?!) Voluminous scaves, soft cardigans, deconstructed jackets, elongated revers on boyfriend jackets, jogging pants, shorts with masculine silhouettes, soft knitwear and sexy sheer slip dresses à la Missoni is filling my moodboard for this upcoming Fall...





Space-dyed print and entwined yarns creadte a melange and tweed effect to die-for.



This passion about Missoni's Fall collection made me interested in digging into Missoni's history a little bit..

The Missoni fashion phenomenon began in 1953 when Rosita and Ottavio "Tai" Missoni established a studio in Gallarate, a small town north of Milan.

In 1958 they presented in Milan their first collection, called Milano-Simpathy, which was the first to bear the Missoni label. The business prospered, with the support of legendary editor Anna Paggi, then at Arianna.

On a trip to New York, Rosita met the French stylist Emmanuelle Khanh in 1965, which led to a collaboration and a radical new collection the following year. Their fame was assured in April 1967, when they were invited to show at the Pitti Palace in Florence. Rosita told the models to remove their bras, supposedly because they were the wrong colour and showed through the thin lamé blouses. The material became transparent under the lights and caused a sensation.The Missonis were not invited back the following year, but the business went from strength to strength, building a new factory in Sumirago in 1969.With their designs being championed in the US Diana Vreeland, editor of Vogue US, they opened their first boutique there, inside Bloomingdales.












The early 1970s saw Missoni reach the peak of their influence in the fashion world. Rosita has admitted that in the 1990s she lost interest in fashion, before handing over to her daughter Angela in 1998. Rosita now is responsible for overseeing the design of all home projects.