It all began with this plate,” says Rosita Missoni, pointing at a glossy bone-china confection emblazoned with a swirling vortex of greys and plums. “It’s a tribute to the artist Sonia Delaunay. She has always been my main source of inspiration.”
The matriarch of the Italian knitwear dynasty is riffling animatedly through samples from the 2006 Missoni Home collection. “A piece of fabric can light up a room,” she says, stroking a wisp of sheer, turquoise toile. “Whether it’s rough, smooth or soft, it should transmit an emotion when you touch it.”
As she unfurls roll after roll of rainbow-hued fabric, the sprightly 74-year-old’s excitement is palpable — and justified. The new collection, encapsulating everything from oversized florals on acid-bright cotton to elegant, spherical motifs on olive-green silk, is sure to build on the huge success that Missoni Home has enjoyed in recent years.
After handing over the reins of the main fashion line to her daughter Angela in 2001, Missoni concentrated her creative energies on expanding the label’s modest range of bedding and towels, which had remained largely unchanged since production began in the early 1970s. The timing was perfect: a vibrant collection of cushions, throws and tableware hit the high street just as shoppers were rejecting the austerity of minimalism. Sales grew by 15% last year, and homeware now makes up roughly a quarter of the company’s £87m annual turnover.
“To truly follow fashion, you have to be young and feel a synergy with what’s going on,” says Missoni. “I now do a job that corresponds with my life, and luckily, success has followed. The home, for me, is everything.”
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Home is “a magical place”, with Alpine views, in Sumirago, just outside Milan, which Missoni shares with her husband of 52 years, Ottavio. The couple built a modernist glass factory there in 1969, then moved there themselves in 1972, with their three children, Vittorio, Luca and Angela. “It makes sense to work somewhere that makes you feel happy just by looking out of the window,” says Missoni. “I’m sure it is why our children have stayed working with us.”
The homeware factory, in the nearby village of Golasecca, is also a family affair. Missoni herself is part of the famous fashion clan and the third generation of T&J Vestor, which manufactures soft furnishings and tableware, while her niece, Wanda Jelmini, has become an integral part of the creative process at Missoni Home. The duo pore over patterns from the fashion archive together, then modify the motifs and experiment with fabrics.
This experimentation is nothing new. As a child, Missoni would “rescue” scraps of material from the dustbin in her grandparents’ shawl factory, a habit that has stayed with her in adulthood. Saddened by the incineration of intricately woven Missoni offcuts, she began to experiment with larger pieces at home, covering seats and making patchwork rugs. “Little changes can help to enliven daily life,” she says. “I like to improvise and move things around. It’s a rehearsal for my job.”
That said, she dislikes homes that look flashy or overdesigned; the ideal of ubiquitous good taste championed by interior decorators is definitely out of the question. “You are the only person who knows what you truly like,” she says. “The moment you love something, it’s right for your home.”
Missoni regularly falls in love with quirky vintage pieces during her frequent visits to flea markets in Italy, France and, when she is in the UK, London. Her most inspirational find of late was a 1960s Verner Panton rocking chair, which she reupholstered in one of her fabrics. Delighted with the result, she contacted the late designer’s heirs and convinced them to start producing the chair again in the new upholstery. “It was the first step towards making furniture,” says Missoni. “But I am not a product designer, I simply apply our patterns to things.” A team of in-house designers was enlisted to help realise her vision for the latest collection, although the resulting floral lampshades, colourful pouffes and graphic side tables are pure Missoni.
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Like her heroine Delaunay, Missoni is a true pluralist; as well as the expansion of the new furniture range, next year will see the launch of a worldwide chain of Missoni hotels. “I love the fact that Delaunay designed everything from dresses to cars and still managed to retain the identity of her art. I hope I can do the same.”
Missoni Home: for stockist inquiries, contact Interdesign (020 7376 5272)