Who will take over Missoni?- "Margherita, darling"

Since 1953, the Italian fashion house Missoni has generated a status of creating innovative knitwear designs and continuously gains recognition for its remarkable embrace of culture and modernism. Color, pattern and the finest materials launched the brand into the forefront of Italian fashion design, and the company’s extensive use of computer technology made Missoni the standard by which today’s knitwear is measured. To better understand the research techniques that Missoni possibly utilizes to construct their collections, I began to look into the current trends of this upcoming season. Color, pattern, and fabrication engaged the collection full force. These design elements conceptually came directly from the predictions that were professed by fashion forecasters the year before. For me to accurately produce a sale forecast for Missoni, I had to understand the importance of back casting and how it is a testament of what is occurring now. I will show that Missoni will have an increase in sales due to the induction of a new creative director and marketing to specific industry leaders. As I further discuss my findings and revelations with my forecast, my expectations of Missoni’s sales will come full circle.

   Missoni 1953

 

 

Missoni has an artistic design aesthetic. Their signature knitwear designs have kept them a staple in many wardrobes simply because Missoni understands not only the importance of quality pieces but the impact they must have to remain relevant. Rosita Missoni, one of the design house founders, told the New York Post in 1978, "Our philosophy since we went into business has been that a piece of clothing should be like a work of art. It should not be bought for a special occasion or because it's in fashion, but because a woman likes it…and feels she could wear it forever”. 

 

Rosita Missoni

 

(Missoni knits during the process and the finished product)

 

 

I took a look at the collections throughout Missoni’s career and was able to see many similarities. The consistency in Rosita’s original vision is extremely present in Angela Missoni, her daughter and the creative director for Missoni. I researched past collections, colors and textiles to see where Angela is going with her future design theories.  I found that street fashion actually incorporates that artistic aspect that Rosita absolutely desires for Missoni. By further looking to street fashion for answers, suddenly all the design details that I have been seeing on the runway and in trade journals have come to life. Although, little of Missoni’s fashion relies on trends, it’s almost impossible to completely cut out popular industry points of view.

 

 

 

  Since Angela has been the Creative Director for Missoni, she has redesigned many of the original knit silhouettes and increased brand awareness. Today, Missoni has flagships in Paris and New York, which has broaden their global outreach in America.

Missoni Spring 2013

 

 

 

Angela's 29 year old daughter, Margherita, periodically designs accessories for Missoni and is also a well-known model. Margherita has worked very close with her Missoni family, posing as the face of companies two perfumes and was the face for Missoni for Target collection. Because Margherita is so closely related to the fashion scene and is a style icon amongst many young women, she has reestablish Missoni as a trendy designer. Her influence has peaked since many of Missoni’s apparel can be seen on celebrities such as Jennifer Lopez and Cameron Diaz. Always in New York, Margherita finds herself being photographed and featured in fashion magazines. Angela took Missoni in a new direction in the nineties and Margherita is expected to do so for the era. There have already been talks of Margherita becoming the new creative director for Missoni; however she is not interested at the time. A recent newlywed, Margherita is looking forward to traveling the world with her husband, Eugenio. I believe that in due time, Margherita will come around to the idea.

I see a great percentage of sales increases by just having ads in the popular U.S. fashion magazines. Social media will also compute more involvement between the Missoni label and consumers. I understand that Missoni want to keep to its exclusive reputations and Italian roots, but their clearly is an interest for Missoni in America and that has stemmed from Margherita. It is only a matter of time before we start seeing Margherita more involved with the creative process, and then, it will be rightfully hers.

 

 



 



 



 

Something You Can Feel

I find it easy to identify with things I can see and feel. As a fashion merchandising major, half of what I have been taught in class is all visual. I like being able to see clearly with my eyes the various design elements in a garment. The other half is textural. Being able to touch those items that appear to be smooth but turn out rough. It’s an interesting game to play with textures. Some textures could be made out of the most unassuming things. Touch that dress in your closet. What do you think it’s made of? Does it feel like silk? There are so many things to learn about textures and the uses are endless. 

I enjoyed looking at what Missoni came up with for their fall collection. Shiny metallic embellishments, chunky heels and boots, wooden details, beading and pine needles graced almost every model. The fall 2012 trends are currently fur, leather, brass and gold buckles, large scale knits and fringe, which are clearly reflected all over the Missoni collection.

In the runway look, I took the textural influences of wood to be the inspiration for the garment. The layering of the different fabrics reminds me of the different layers of bark and roots.

Ferocious furs and captivating textures hit the runway for fall. Angela Missoni clearly was inspired by urge to be wild. Natural textures were clearly the inspiration for the collection. Wood, stone, fur, tree bark, and mica-sparkled minerals are just a few of the many textural elements in the show.

I can look at the fur in this photograph and my fingertips can feel the warmth of the fur. Its amazing how life experiences have conditioned us to visualize things we cannot feel.

This is my Texture Trend Board for Missoni fall 2012. I took much of what I saw in the collection and what Angela Missoni wanted for her collection and made a wonderful interpretation of all the textures.

Fifty Shades Of Brown

Anywhere you go in town, there’s bound to be a woman laced in sienna, wheat, russet, and tan. All of this color begins with brown. The street style in Providence can tell you more about trends than any fashion magazine. Shades of brown are the staple for the fall season. Anyone can where they and they aren’t limited to a certain demographic. Most popularly, shades of brown can be found in knitwear and outerwear. Recently, I’ve been noticing that women choose to wear almost tunic like tops in tan and wheat with darker tints of brown on the bottom. Although this street style may seem odd they possibilities are endless.

 

This entire outfit has a brown base. The long tunic top is a light tan and her tights underneath are chocolate brown. To balance the similar colors, she pairs pewter flats to finish it all off.

 

 

                                                          A similar look I found!

 

 

                                 This girl wears her textured Leather jacket in warm sienna.

 

Missoni’s fall 2012 women’s wear collection unleashed ferocious furs and captivating tints of brown onto the runway. The backstory is a girl who wants to lose herself in the wild but is stuck living in the city; “I am Woman”. The collection is a combination of urban influences and an immersion of nature. Angela Missoni wove the collection out of wood, stone, fur, tree bark, and mica-sparkled minerals. Each piece really packed in all the colors of fall.  Shiny metallic embellishments, chunky heels and boots, wooden details, beading and pine needles graced almost every model. Angela took interpreted the equestrian theme of the season so interestingly that it appeared to take to women out of training horses and more like wrestling wolves.

                                            

 

The street style trends play into Missoni’s fall collection effortlessly. The collections entire bases relies heavily on brown. A subtext to the collections theme was protection. According to Angela, the Missoni girl needed to keep her heart warm, so the chunky sweaters and jackets seen on the runway definitely showed on the streets.The fall 2012 trends are currently fur, leather, brass and gold buckles, large scale knits and fringe, which are produced in tints and hues of brown. Clearly , they are reflected all over the Missoni fall collection and little ole' Providence.

                                                      

 

 

 

 

Missoni House Paint

Missoni blew away show attendees with their surprising take on color in their spring 2013 collection. Angela Missoni opened her spring 2013 with a series of all-white looks. If you were sitting in the back, all you saw was a plain silhouette. However, from the front row you could see all the vertical and horizontal paneling in each solid whit garment. The collection eventually eased into color, with white looks painted with pink and orangey ombre. Still using the dip-dyed technique, the knits took on the same ombre effect. Angela played with the same gradation of colors in Missoni’s fall 2012 collection.

The knits, as always, were the show stoppers that evening. Gorgeous open knit cardigans, bathing suit shells and frocks in springtime corals and blues. As written in the line sheet, Angela Missoni said: “An evanescent look as implacable as the refraction of light, an optical illusion, and a fluorescent beam…The silhouette is that of a Japanese ‘anime’ heroine. A creature from an animated movie who walks and moves in zero gravity wearing pure, linear pieces, enriched with precious intarsia work, that stand out in space and create their own aura…The Missoni Summer 2013 woman is transformed into a presence that radiates energy, a gentle creature who is also strong and decisive, bewitchingly inescapable: a mysterious intergalactic tourist who has landed on our planet.” I can see the Japanese influences in the Japanese Harajuku patterned baby doll dresses and the bright pinks.   The vibrant hues personally brought me back to Missoni in the 1960’s because although the famous zigzag pattern was not so prevalent, the bright pscycodelic colors were.

Secondary, sheer chiffon's and crochet ponchos layered over form-fitting maxis were the trending ensembles in Missoni's spring 2013 collection.  Missoni signature work, the knit, was patch worked and multi-textured with sequins and crystals periodically through the collection. Every one of the embellishments either added more color contract or enhanced the already existing colors in the piece. Here, the model is wrapped in a tight maxi with a small geometric pattern repeated throughout. The dress is then finished off with an organza shell with abstract designs along the bottom. Once again, to fully get the intricacies behind the garment you had to view it up close.

Missoni Spring 2013

 



Makeup also played a big part in the consistency of the collection. The colors most primary in the garments were the color palette for the makeup. Pinky-orange, neon pouts graced every model but all in different shades. Although this trend in lip paint has been around since spring 2013, Angela Missoni clearly has no problem with repeating the same styles year after year.

 

I loved the spring 2013 collection and agree with the overall color scheme. However, I would have like to see a little more variety in the hues of the colors. Because there’re so bright, it leaves little transition into the fall 2013 collection. I think that it’s more cohesive to have collections that have the same color story within the same year. The only differences in the colors should be by the tints and hues of the season. For next year I predict a more washed out version on the colors in the spring 2013 collection.

 

 

 

 

 

Missoni's Warrior Woman Fall 2012

“It is a setting with the view of the sea, on the rocky shores of Elba Island that of the Missoni campaign fall/winter 2012.”

Missoni Fall/Winter 2012 Campaign Director

Mark Borthwick

 

Missoni’s fall 2012 women’s wear collection unleashed ferocious furs and captivating textures onto the runway. Angela Missoni clearly was inspired by urge to be wild, but what takes a little more analyzing is why. What has happened in fashion that has made her want to capture nature in its raw and purest form? I think that underlining role that women are pressed to uphold really made her take a provocative approach with the collection. In America, we look to style icons like the First Lady and Kate Middleton. These women are underneath the microscope of the fashion industry with every hit or miss garment they step out in. Angela Missoni is simply implying that women concerned with the pressure of acceptance, should allow she to enjoy the natural progression of life.

 

The backstory is a girl who wants to lose herself in the wild but is stuck living in the city; the “I am Woman” warrior philosophy. The collection is a combination of urban influences and an immersion of nature. Angela wove the collection out of wood, stone, fur, tree bark, and mica-sparkled minerals. Of course, the collection unified Missoni’s famous zigzag print, which appeared with leather and latex in trousers and midi dresses. Each piece really packed in all the trend of fall. Shiny metallic embellishments, chunky heels and boots, wooden details, beading and pine needles graced almost every model. Angela took interpreted the equestrian theme of the season so interestingly that it appeared to take to women out of training horses and more like wrestling wolves.
                                                
                                                    (Urban Influences)

 

(Barbarian Woman)

 

                                                                             

A subtext to the story was protection. According to Angela, the Missoni girl needed to keep her heart warm, so there were stoles that tightly wrapped shoulders, as well as big fur collars. Its got a sort of romantic undertone.The collection was definitely a push in a different direction for Missoni. Everyone is so used to their vibrant colors and this season they stayed pretty close to earth tones. The fall 2012 trends are currently fur, leather, brass and gold buckles, large scale knits and fringe, which are clearly reflected all over the Missoni collection. Overall, the Missoni girl is more than prepared to battle the elements of the concrete jungle come fall.
                                                 (Ancient Barbarian Pottery)
                                                            Color Story

 

 

 

Missoni says YES to Milan, NO to New York

Missoni passed on New York Fashion Week and instead is heading towards showing at Milan Fashion Week. Missoni built its empire in Italy and is accredited for putting Milan on the map as a fashion capital in the 1960's. Therefore, Milan is always going to be the first place that they show their collection.

After already showing their Men's spring-summer 2013 line in June, Missoni has the public dying to see what they have for the Women. You can already view the women's pre-collection spring on MISSONI.com and can I just say, it's stunning. The prints this year appear to be very wearable. The design patterns aren't too overbearing for the silhouette of the garments. Placement was definitely key in this years collection. It feels very J. Crew-esque. I'm interested to see what more they have in store for spring. I'm predicting that it will be just as colorful!

Women's Pre-Collection Spring 2013