Vittorio Missoni (25 April 1954 – 4 January 2013) was an Italian businessman, CEO of the
fashion house
Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has varied over time and place. "A fashion design ...
Missoni
Missoni is an Italian luxury fashion house based in Varese, Italy, Varese, and known for its colourful knitwear designs. The company was founded by Ottavio Missoni, Ottavio ("Tai") and Rosita Missoni in 1953.
History Early beginnings
The busin ...
founded by his parents in 1953. Missoni was credited with expanding the family shop into a global brand after his parents handed control to him and his two siblings, Angela and Luca, in 1996.
Childhood
Missoni was born in
Gallarate
Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people.
It is the junction ...
,
Lombardy
The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
, Italy, in 1954, to
Ottavio Ottavio is the Italian form of Octavius. Its feminine given name version is Ottavia. Ottavio may refer to:
Given name
* Ottavio Cinquanta, the President of the International Skating Union
* Ottavio Leoni, Italian painter
* Ottavio Piccolomini, (15 ...
and
Rosita Missoni. His parents had opened a small
knitwear store in Gallarate in 1953 shortly before he was born. They released their first articles of clothing using the Missoni label in 1958. The company, which is known for a distinctive
zigzag
A zigzag is a pattern made up of small corners at variable angles, though constant within the zigzag, tracing a path between two parallel lines; it can be described as both jagged and fairly regular.
In geometry, this pattern is described as a ...
knitwear pattern, became successful in Italy during the 1960s. The three Missoni children – Vittorio, Angela and Luca – became involved with the day-to-day operations of the family business.
Missoni
In 1996, Ottavio and Rosita handed control of the Missoni fashion house to their children. Angela and Luca took responsibility for the creative direction of the Missoni line, while Vittorio Missoni handled the business aspects of the company. Vittorio Missoni initially led the marketing and manufacturing departments of Missoni. However, he was widely credited with expanding the fashion house into a full global brand after becoming Missoni's
chief executive officer
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization.
CEOs find roles in variou ...
in Europe and the United States. Under Vittorio Missoni, the company's trademark pattern and name expanded into household and cosmetic products, including perfume and towels. A Missoni Hotel chain debuted in 2009 in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...
, Scotland.
Accidental death
The plane in which Missoni and his wife were flying, a forty-four-year-old
Britten-Norman Islander
The Britten-Norman BN-2 Islander is a British light utility aircraft and regional airliner designed and originally manufactured by Britten-Norman of the United Kingdom. Still in production, the Islander is one of the best-selling commercial airc ...
,
disappeared on 4 January 2013, after taking off from
Los Roques Airport in the
Los Roques archipelago, where they had been vacationing, en route to
Caracas
Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...
, Venezuela. His wife, Maurizia Castiglioni, and their friends, Guido Foresti and Elda Scalvenzi, as well as two crew members were also on board the plane.
Right after the incident, Missoni's son insinuated that the disappearance looked more like a kidnapping.
The search for the missing aircraft took more than six months.
His father, Ottavio, died in May 2013, before the plane was located.
On 27 June 2013, it was confirmed that Missoni's plane was found in the
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
, north of the
Los Roques archipelago 76-meter deep in the water.
The aircraft was located by the crew of C&C Technologies' research vessel ''Sea Scout'', an
oceanographic
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology, sea science, ocean science, and marine science, is the scientific study of the ocean, including its physics, chemistry, biology, and geology.
It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of top ...
ship, on the fifth day of their search for Missoni.
[ In October 2013, the Ansa reported that the Venezuelan authorities had recovered five bodies including Missoni's.]
See also
* Transaereo BN-2A-27 Islander crash
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Missoni, Vittorio
1954 births
2013 deaths
Italian chief executives
Italian hoteliers
People from Gallarate
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 2013
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Venezuela
Missoni family