Working from home since 1953.
Born in Dubrovnik to a Countess and a Captain of the sea, Ottavio Missoni was always destined to walk a winding path.
From Italian track and field teenager, to captured infantryman at the Battle of El Alamain, to olympic hurdler and athletics aesthete, he negotiated his way through life with a savior faire, helping put Milan on the fashion map along the way.
He was a trailblazer, creating the Italian active-wear industry and even inventing the zippered leg you now take for granted on your tracksuit trousers.
But it was his partnering with lifelong muse, wife and companion – Rosita Jelmini, which was the masterstroke.
Ottavio was a master of colour and patterns, Rosita the tailor, seamstress and fabric aficionado. Together they changed their industry, brought colour and vibrancy to the masses, clashed with the titans of Florentine fashion of a stray nipple or two, and reached the heights of couture fame.
And they did it all by working from home.
Over the years they built their empire together, on 17 plots of land they acquired to develop their factory, house and studio north of Milan.
“We decided we should find a place to work where we would like to spend our weekends.” Rosita Missoni
You can find inspiration in her home in Sumirago by clicking the links below:
If they could build a global powerhouse from their garden way back in the 1950’s, then so can you.
