DESIGNER MISSONI BELIEVED DEAD

 

 Plane carrying Missoni fashion director found off Venezuela

By Joe Sterling, CNN

 

(CNN) -- Nearly six months after it went missing off Venezuela's coast, authorities have located the small plane that was carrying Italian fashion boss Vittorio Missoni and five others, the country's Interior Ministry announced Thursday.

The aircraft disappeared on January 4 as it left Los Roques, an archipelago and resort, for the international airport outside Caracas, about 90 miles away. Vittorio Missoni, his wife, and four others -- including a pilot and copilot -- were all on board. All are presumed dead.

The private company, based in Milan, Italy, has estimated annual sales of between $75 million and $100 million.

The brand, first created in 1953 as a knitwear workshop in Gallarte, Italy, has expanded from apparel to housewares, a fragrance line and a chain of hotels.

Stefano Tonchi, editor-in-chief of W magazine, called the Missonis "one of the most important Italian fashion families," crediting their move to Milan in the late 1960s with helping make the northern Italian city the fashion hub it is today.

Vittorio Missoni and his siblings took over the brand in 1996 with an eye toward marketing to a younger consumer.

The fashion house partnered with Target in 2011 to produce a more budget-friendly collection for the discount retailer, which caused Target's website to crash due to the high demand.

 Missoni, 58, ran the famed Missoni fashion house with his siblings, Luca and Angela. Neither sibling was on the plane. 

( WHEN I WORKED AT SAKS 5TH AVE IN THE MID 80'S, MISSONI WAS ONE OF OUR BIGGEST SELLERS.  THE INTRICATE, COLORFUL PATTERNS ON SWEATERS AND SUCH WERE THE RAVE FOR THE UPPER CRUST. MISSONI WAS NEVER AS COMMERCIALIZED AS SOME OTHERS BUT THOSE IN THE KNOW ALWAYS REQUESTED MISSONI )