Designer Angela Missoni marks 20 years at the top: no politics, just a celebration

Creative director who refined the family-owned Italian firm’s artisanal knits is known for her passion for human rights and women’s issues, but this week it’s party time, with a show celebrating two decades of modernising

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Designer Angela Missoni, flanked by her mother Rosita, left, and other family members, addresses the audience after her autumn/winter 2017/18 show.

Published: 7:01pm, 18 Sep 2017Updated: 8:44pm, 18 Sep 2017

Angela Missoni doesn’t think she’s political, but she will stand up for her beliefs. She is passionate about supporting women, whether nurturing talent within her family, helping women-focused charities, or making a plea for human rights as she did in a speech after her Milan catwalk show in February.

On each seat for the autumn/winter collection were pink pussy hats (a significant feature of the Women’s Marches around the world on January 21) in Missoni’s signature zigzag knit. After the finale, and surrounded by her family, Missoni took to the microphone: “In a time of uncertainty, there is a bond between us that can keep us strong and safe: the bond that unites those that respect the human rights of all. Let’s show the world that the fashion community is united and fearless.”

Missoni has modernised the company founded by her mother Rosita and late father Ottavio.

It was a statement of solidarity with the post-Trump presidential inauguration marches that brought people together to defend human rights and other issues such as women’s rights and racial equality.

“When I saw the women’s marches I felt I wanted to be part of that; I had to do this for my mother and my daughters, to find the moment and the place to be united, and I felt very reassured that everyone in the fashion community felt the same,” says Missoni, who this week will celebrate her 20th anniversary as the creative director of one of the few remaining family-owned fashion businesses in Italy.

Politics reigns at Milan Fashion Week

Her mother Rosita Missoni (co-founder of the knitwear brand in the 1950s with her late husband Ottavio) and daughter Margherita have described her as “a rebel”. She begs to differ: “I’ve always been very strong in defending my ideas. I follow my feelings and stand for certain principles and that is why I stood up in February.” The designer is a friend and supporter of Italian politician Emma Bonino, who was instrumental in paving the way for divorce and abortion in the Catholic country, and has stood as a candidate for the Italian presidency.