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.
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.
