Ottavio Missoni

Ottavio Missoni was born in Dubrovnik, Croatia, on the Dalmatian coast. His mother, Teresa de' Vidovich di Capocesto e Rogoznica, was a Dalmatian Countess while his father, Vittorio Missoni, was a Friulian sea captain who moved to Dalmatia while it was under Austrian rule. Through his mother he was a close cousin of Italian politician Renzo de' Vidovich. He was educated in Zadar, Trieste, and Milan.

In 1997 Ottavio and Rosita passed the Missoni business to their children. Vittorio acted as marketing director, Angela became creative director, and Luca holds a technical role, having created designs for the Aeros dance troupe and an installation for the Expo 2005. Since the handover, Missoni has expanded into a lifestyle brand which includes furniture, car interiors, a chain of hotels, and collaborations with companies such as Target.

In 2003, when Missoni marked their 50th year of business, Suzy Menkes wrote a tribute in the International Herald Tribune stating how the "best-beloved" Missonis represented "one big happy local family of hands-on wizards".

On 4 January 2013, Missoni's eldest son, CEO Vittorio Missoni, his wife Maurizia, two other passengers and two crew disappeared in an airplane near the Los Roques islands near Venezuela. The body of his son Vittorio will never be found, but only the remains of Vittorio Missoni's wife and the bodies of the two pilots will be identified.

On 1 May 2013, twelve days after marking his and Rosita's 60th wedding anniversary, Ottavio was taken to hospital, but at his request, he went home to be with his family in Sumirago, where during the night of 8 and 9 May, the 92-year-old Ottavio died "serenely".

While in London for the Olympics, Missoni met the 16-year-old Rosita Jelmini, an English student from Golasecca, Italy. She was in the audience at Wembley at the time he was running in the finals. They married five years later on 18 April 1953. Their first son, Vittorio, was born on 25 April 1954. Luca, their second son, was born on 4 July 1956. Their only daughter, Angela was born in 1960.