In 1953, Ottavio “Tai” Missoni (1921–2013) and Rosita Missoni (b. 1931) opened a small knitwear shop in Gallarate, Italy, paving the way for what would become an iconic style of colorful chevron knit.
Missoni began with a tracksuit, which featured zippers down the legs because, as Rosita recalls it, “Tai was too lazy to take off his shoes when putting them on.” The couple’s fashion really took off, though, once they discovered the Raschel knitting machine on a trip to a shawl factory. The machine enabled the Missonis to knit multiple colors in a zigzag pattern, a motif that would go on to become synonymous with the Missoni brand across everything from its alluring vintage day dresses and sweaters to its purses, seating and rugs.
Missoni held its first fashion show in Florence in 1967 and caused a bit of a sensation when the models’ Lurex dresses proved translucent under the lights at the Pitti Palace. Scandal aside, the show went down in history as a hit, and the Missonis soon made their debut in the United States with the help of legendary fashion editor Diana Vreeland, who gave the variegated Missoni stripe the Vogue seal of approval, saying, “Who says a rainbow has seven colors? It has many shades.” (It was also Vreeland who reportedly introduced the Missonis to Neiman Marcus president Stanley Marcus, effectively shepherding the brand to the American market.)
Missoni’s many-shaded rainbow would soon become an emblem of the 1970s fashion scene, earning the brand a permanent place in the fashion canon. In 1973, the New York Times proclaimed: “Missoni’s weaved garments have ended up universal materialistic trifles, as Vuitton sacks and Gucci shoes.” By then, Ottavio had been creating tapestries, and some of his knitted fabrics were shown in an exhibition at Galleria Il Naviglio in Venice in 1975.
The brand branched into the home market in 1983, with Rosita overseeing this new venture, Missoni Home, which included furniture, textiles and accessories. Daughter Angela succeeded her mother at the helm of the brand, where she served as creative director until 2021 and is currently president; her brother Luca is CEO, while her daughter Margherita was creative director of M Missoni, a modestly priced offshoot that was discontinued in 2021.
Find vintage Ottavio Missoni tapestries, rugs and other furniture today on 1stDibs.
Large Ottavio Missoni Wool Tapestry Wall Hanging
By Ottavio Missoni
Located in Long Island City, NY
Artist: Ottavio Missoni, Italian (1921 - 2013) Title: #2 Year: circa 1980's Medium: Woolen Tapestry mounted to support board for hanging Size: 46 in. x 92 in. (116.84 cm x 233.68 cm)
Wool
Three Body Problem : contemporary 3D work of art
Located in New York, NY
Contemporary artwork by New York artist David Rockwell. Oil and 3D printing on stretched canvas and wood frame. Rockwell makes paintings that live on the borders between traditional art practice, design, technology, and science. He enjoys the visual potential inherent in each of these interests; art history as an aggregate of thousands of years of representation, letterforms as brushstrokes of language, layering as a palimpsest of life lived, simple algorithms that give rise to complex forms in nature. Rockwell uses 3D printing to assemble computer modeled surfaces on both canvas and wood panels. Art historical references and figuration share space with pattern, texture and grid systems. This process also enables him to dive deeper through iteration (working in series, recombining elements) so that connections and themes emerge between individual paintings over time. “Three Body Problem...
Canvas, Wood, Oil
$27,000
H 60 in W 60 in D 2 in
"Orange Colors" by Rehfeld - Large Abstract Geometric in Orange and Yellow
By Steven H. Rehfeld
Located in Carmel, CA
Steven H. Rehfeld (American, born 1954) "Orange Colors" 2018 Oil paint, Paper, Glue, Canvas, Stretcher bars The artist signed the back of the painting. In "Orange Colors," Rehfeld o...
Canvas, Oil, Paper, Glue, Stretcher Bars
$400
H 16 in W 16.1 in D 1.4 in
"Moment #29", Mixed Media Artwork, Abstract Geometric, Hand Embellished
By Monty Montgomery
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a mixed-media artwork by Monty Montgomery. Its dimensions are 16 x 16.1 x 1.4 and it is Hand Embellished Giclee print on Canvas with UV Gloss Varnish. A certificate of authen...
Canvas, Varnish, Giclée
$1,500
H 20.5 in W 54 in D 0.1 in
Untitled Whitney Museum Scarf Color Field Geometric Abstraction Limited Edition
By Kenneth Noland
Located in New York, NY
Kenneth Noland Untitled Whitney Museum Limited Edition Silk Scarf, 1999 Artist designed scarf in colors on 100% Silk in original Whitney Museum packaging with artist's printed name a...
Silk, Screen
$7,000
H 31 in W 31 in D 1 in
Color Circle and Star, Marker on fabric print Hand signed (ed of only 20) Framed
By Polly Apfelbaum
Located in New York, NY
Polly Apfelbaum Color Circle and Star, 2004 Fabric Marker and Fabric Dye on Velvet Cotton Signed and dated in ink by the artist on the front with artist's inkstamp. Frame Included Si...
Fabric, Dye, Ink, Mixed Media, Permanent Marker
RD011-17
By Steven Kinder
Located in Fairfield, CT
Steven Kinder talks a lot about energy, form and movement and getting at the essence of something. Getting to the middle of it. He wants his work to call out in some way. He is inspi...
Canvas, Mixed Media
RD013-17
By Steven Kinder
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NY & LA -- Steven Kinder talks a lot about energy, form and movement and getting at the essence of something. Getting to the middle of it....
Canvas, Mixed Media
RD001-17
By Steven Kinder
Located in Fairfield, CT
Represented by George Billis Gallery, NY & LA -- Steven Kinder talks a lot about energy, form and movement and getting at the essence of something. Getting to the middle of it. H...
Canvas, Mixed Media
RD20-17
By Steven Kinder
Located in Fairfield, CT
Steven Kinder talks a lot about energy, form and movement and getting at the essence of something. Getting to the middle of it. He wants his work to call out in some way. He is inspi...
Canvas, Mixed Media
$880
H 43.3 in W 47.24 in
Snow Field Crops, Geometric Patchwork Artwork, White and Blue Constructivism
By Zita Chocarro
Located in Barcelona, ES
This is a beautiful patchwork piece by Zita Chocarro. Her exploration of color plays with form and contrast, as the intersection of the shapes she uses masterfully come together to ...
Fabric
Ars Poetica 18 : contemporary collage
By Jacqueline Dee Parker
Located in New York, NY
Jacqueline Dee Parker’s collages are interdisciplinary in approach and concept. Her materials include antique literature and music books and other ephemera. Just as words, sounds, an...
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
$15,000
H 36 in W 30 in
Signed unique Acrylic and Charcoal Painting on Canvas, renowned British sculptor
By Nigel Hall
Located in New York, NY
Nigel Hall Untitled Acrylic and Charcoal Painting on Canvas, 1997 Acrylic and charcoal painting on canvas Signed and titled by the artist on the front. Dated on the back. 36 × 30 inc...
Canvas, Charcoal, Acrylic
Ars Poetica 6 : contemporary collage
By Jacqueline Dee Parker
Located in New York, NY
Jacqueline Dee Parker’s collages are interdisciplinary in approach and concept. Her materials include antique literature and music books and other ephemera. Just as words, sounds, and images rooted in memory may trigger the composition of a poem, collage is a mode of perception that prompts integration of different sorts of accumulated language. Fragments of lived experience are the bricks and mortar the artist uses to build new spaces informed by time’s passage. Early life in the home of an architect and a violinist shaped Jacqueline Dee Parker’s aesthetic. Exposure to the art of architecture encouraged interest in spatial relationships, taught her to read elevations and visualize their 3-D intentions, and, at construction sites, to appreciate the evolution of concept to form. Music played through and where words ended, roused layers of emotional response, and altered the sense of place and time. Together, these ingredients fostered an affinity for abstraction and design. Jacqueline Dee Parker's "Ars Poetica" series is inspired from the poem of the same name from Roman poet...
Canvas, Paper, Acrylic
$400
H 14 in W 18 in D 1.5 in
"Geo #77", Mixed Media Artwork, Abstract Geometric Giclée Print, 14x18
By Monty Montgomery
Located in San Diego, CA
This is a mixed-media artwork by Monty Montgomery. Its dimensions are 14 x 18 x 1.5 and it is Hand Embellished Giclee print on Canvas with UV Gloss Varnish. A certificate of authent...
Canvas, Varnish, Giclée
$820
H 28.75 in W 28.55 in D 1.19 in
Abstract Geometric Mixed Media Painting, Acrylic on Canvas, 1980s
Located in Cotignac, FR
Abstract geometric mixed media painting probably dating from the 1980s. The painting has been created using various mediums to create an interesting texture and form to the rough ca...
Fabric, Canvas, Organic Material, Acrylic
Number 1, Large Woolen Tapestry Wall Art by Missoni
By Ottavio Missoni
Located in Long Island City, NY
A woolen tapestry by Missoni circa 1980. Artist: Ottavio Missoni, Italian (1921 - 2013) Title: #1 Year: circa 1980's Medium: Woolen Tapestry Size: 67 ...
Wool
Sold
H 28.5 in W 60.5 in
Number 3 - Rectangles, Geometric Tapestry Wall Hanging by Ottavio Missoni
By Ottavio Missoni
Located in Long Island City, NY
A woolen tapestry by Missoni circa 1980. Artist: Ottavio Missoni, Italian (1921 - 2013) Title: #3 Year: circa 1980's Medium: Woolen Tapestry Size: 21 in. x 53 in. (53.34 cm x 1...
Wool