Modern Icons: Missoni Textiles
Excited by Target's new Missoni line? See what else this venerated fashion house has to offer
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
In honor of that fact that many of us stood outside Target's doors at 8 a.m., waiting to fill our carts with the new Missoni collection (I'll show you my haul in a moment), let's celebrate this iconic brand with an ideabook homage.
The roots of Missoni go back to an Olympic athlete who created wool tracksuits and met up with a woman who came from a shawl-making family. It was a serendipitous merger, right up there with when peanut butter met chocolate. In 1948, Ottavio Missoni met Rosita Jelmini during the London Olympics.
They married and created the Missoni fashion label, presenting the first collection in 1958. Since then, they have expanded their unique look to include costumes for dance performances, tapestries, home furnishings, car interiors, and most recently, a line of luxury hotels. Often imitated but never equaled, their textiles always stand out and are easy to identify.
Get a peek at the new collection
The roots of Missoni go back to an Olympic athlete who created wool tracksuits and met up with a woman who came from a shawl-making family. It was a serendipitous merger, right up there with when peanut butter met chocolate. In 1948, Ottavio Missoni met Rosita Jelmini during the London Olympics.
They married and created the Missoni fashion label, presenting the first collection in 1958. Since then, they have expanded their unique look to include costumes for dance performances, tapestries, home furnishings, car interiors, and most recently, a line of luxury hotels. Often imitated but never equaled, their textiles always stand out and are easy to identify.
Get a peek at the new collection
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| In 1981, Missoni introduced a line of home furnishing fabrics, which were produced by Rosita's family's factory. They have been creating striking home products like this chevron rug ever since. |
Regarding Missoni in 1969, legendary tastemaker and Vogue Editor Diana Vreeland exclaimed, "Look! Who said that only colors exist? There are also tones." This description explains part of what makes Missoni textiles stand out.
by Tara Seawright
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In 2005 Kartell enlisted Missoni to create eye-popping fabrics for its Mademoiselle chairs, including the exuberant floral pattern you see here.
| Another lively Missoni Mademoiselle print lends itself well to contemporary spaces. |
Missoni textiles are so intricate that just a pillow or two can make a room.
Back in the '60s, Missoni's braless models had a Janet Jackson Superbowl kind of moment under the lights at a runway show. When they were not invited to show in the aftermath, they staged an aquatic fashion show of their own at a pool, full of blow-up armchairs and floating furniture. Thus, it's only appropriate that their furniture include stylish poolside furniture and vibrant towels.
The only thing that makes this Danica chair (designed in the 1970s) even more stylish is pairing it with Missoni fabrics.
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| Although Missoni has mastered the use of all those tones, their pattern work also applies well to black and white. In fact, looking at these cubes, it's as if they are deconstructing what makes all of their patterns work so well, by straightening out all the lines, removing the color and being left with what's still a powerful graphic. |
Is all of this out of your price range? Mine too. That's why I had the Target event programmed into my phone alarm.
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| True confessions: Here's my haul from the Edgewood Target in Atlanta, which was practically sold out by 8:30 a.m. Those art glass vases were my favorite find, and my other sneaky find for myself was the men's cardigan, since almost every piece of women's clothing was gone by the time I got there. There was also not a pouf or pillow in sight, so I hope they restock those ASAP. More: Get a peek at the new collection Modern Icons: Marimekko Textiles Guest PIcks: Decor Meets Fashion Botanicals Gone Wild: Wallpapers that Wow Be Bold, Be Brave with Color |
Ideabook updated on Sept. 15, 2011.
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What a bunch of hooey!
Hope they restock soon...i had planned on going this Friday. Thanks for sharing Becky.
Feliciano(angola)
I'm all for capitalism, but come on!
Congrats on all your fantastic finds Becky! I am so loving those vases!! I was able to purchase a single zigzag coffee mug myself! :)
keesje, I was drooling over those interiors when I was writing this. I was wishing they would add those shots to Houzz so that we could all use them in our ideabooks!