Forever a Missoni Fan

On Thursday I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to visit the Missoni store on Madison Avenue along with some fellow fashion enthusiasts. We were accompanied by Luca and Judy Missoni, the son of the original founders of the brand - Ottavio and Rosita Missoni - and his wife, respectively. I learned a lot about the company and how Missoni garments are made, and I greatly enjoyed the chance to look at the merchandise of one of my favorite designer brands.

Missoni, as I'm sure you know, is renowned for its traditional knitwear, most famously the zig-zag pattern. The garments use a wonderful variety of colors and the quality of the fabrics is practically unbeatable.
In the beginning, the simplest movement to make on the knitting machine was that of the zig-zag, which later became a Missoni signature, but as time went on the level of creativity increased. Missoni patterns are created by moving the fabric as it is knit and by pressing the fabric in certain points for a lace-like effect. This led to many twists on the classic zig-zag. Missoni often creates basic straight knits that are fully fashioned, meaning that machines create shapes that are then linked together, so no sewing or cutting is required. There is also the most expensive technique of knit and wear, when a garment is made in one piece.
Missoni has always been innovative and unafraid of experimentation. Missoni was one of the first, if not the first, to use nylon in the mid-70s to create reversible clothing lined with weather-resistant materials, a first in the fashion industry. Missoni uses space dying, when the yarn is dipped in color, to achieve its unique palettes and patterns. For the look of glitter, laminated materials are knit into the fabric.
Missoni is timeless, always looking forward but always staying faithful to the original foundation of the brand. When I asked Mr. Missoni how the look of Missoni has evolved over time, his response was that of the approach to design. Experimentation "kept a kind of edge," and the brand adapted to evolving technologies. The ideas that worked are kept and adapted, and experimentation is solely for the curiosity rather than the need. Although the fashion industry is known to be fast-paced, Mr. Missoni explained that there is no need for the brand to expand quickly, but instead they must go slow.

Please enjoy my photographs that I took at the Missoni store of the lovely designs that stood out to me.

Luca and Judy Missoni

Photographs taken by me.

What do you think of Missoni? Let me know in the comment section.

xoxo