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Friday Five with Rosita Missoni

Missoni is a brand as known and admired for its home furnishings as it is for its fashions. Rosita Missoni, who started the fashion house with her husband Ottavio (she refers to him as Tai), and is now head of Missoni Home. which puts forth plush rugs, upholstered pieces, towels and bedding, tableware and more, with its signature chevrons, stripes, and free form florals. Her Friday Five reflects her love for family (unsurprising since her children head other aspects of the business), food, home, art, and travel.

1. My Family
My husband, Tai, our children Vittorio, Luca, Angela, and our 9 grandchildren: Angela’s Margherita, 29, Francesco, 27, and Teresa, 24; Luca’s Jennifer, 27, Michelangelo, 20, and Madeleine, 16; Vittorio’s Ottavio, 28, Giacomo, 24, and Marco 22. They all grew up considering our home as their second one, including our factory, their privileged playground.

2. My Home
My nest was designed in collaboration with my friend and architect, Enrico Buzzi, and built in 1970. It’s surrounded by a wild colorful unique garden Tai designed and passionately looks after with the help of Mario, our precious gardener. There are flowers of all kinds in all colors throughout the year, a kitchen garden, a chicken house, and a wonderful view on the Alps with gorgeous Monte Rosa in the center. It is my kingdom, a few steps from our factory (built by the same architect in 1967-68).

3. Bowl by Rock Wang
Design is one of my vital passions. I love to mix furniture and objects of different origins. When we refer to objects, following a sort of fascination or attraction, pieces of furniture also prove to be comfortable. This is my last purchase at Lambrate Ventura during the Salone del Mobile in Milan: a big cement and brick bowl designed by Rock Wang, a young Taiwanese artist. Angela, my daughter, bought two hand-woven steel bamboo tables designed by Nendo.

4. Mushroom Picking
In the fall, mushroom picking in the forest is a hunt I cannot miss. Often disguised like a mine-worker because of the bad weather conditions, I enjoy hours of mushroom picking in the forest, feeling as young as if I were still fifteen. To celebrate my 80th birthday, my children and our design team realized a Missoni patterned mushroom crèche surrounding a basket of fresh specimen.

5. My Summer Holiday Cruise
My summer holiday cruise on the ‘Issa’ along the Dalmatian Coast was wonder.  “Islands Dalmatia” is Tai’s native country. I fell in love with this coast back in 1959. There are 800 islands — some looking like “little Venices” — and the most beautiful sea. There was two weeks of cruising, fishing, and swimming — it’s a must in my summer holiday plans.

Photo 1 by Nally Bellati; photos 2, 3 & 5 by Rosita Missoni; photo 4 by Luca Missoni.

Marni Elyse Katz is a Contributing Editor at Design Milk. She lives in Boston where she contributes regularly to local publications and writes her own interior design blog, StyleCarrot.