Ottavio Missoni ran in the 1948 Olympic 400 metres hurdles final in London, the Italian team wore tracksuits he made
Missoni, the Italian knitwear house, began on a running track. Ottavio Missoni made wool tracksuits with his teammate Giorgio Oberweger after the war, and the Italian Olympic team wore them at the London Games of 1948, where he ran the 400 metres hurdles and reached the final. Rosita Jelmini was sixteen and watching from the student seats. They married in 1953. He died in 2013, aged 92.
The weekly
NewsletterWeeklyOne email a week. Every post from the week, and what didn't fit on a slide.Free. Never shared. Unsubscribe any time.
The post, as it ran
01THE MAN WHO FOUNDED MISSONI RAN IN AN OLYMPIC FINAL IN 1948. THE ITALIAN TEAM WAS WEARING TRACKSUITS HE HAD MADE.
02OTTAVIO MISSONI REACHED THE FINAL OF THE 400 METRES HURDLES AT THE LONDON GAMES. HE WAS 27.
03HE HAD SPENT MUCH OF THE WAR AS A PRISONER. THE BRITISH CAPTURED HIM AT EL ALAMEIN IN 1942 AND HELD HIM IN EGYPT.
04BACK HOME HE STARTED A SMALL BUSINESS WITH A TEAMMATE, KNITTING WOOL TRACKSUITS. THOSE WERE THE ONES ITALY WORE IN LONDON.
05IN THE STANDS AT WEMBLEY WAS ROSITA JELMINI, SIXTEEN, IN ENGLAND TO LEARN THE LANGUAGE. HER SEAT WAS NEAR THE CHANGING ROOMS.
06THEY MARRIED IN 1953 AND SET UP A KNITTING WORKSHOP NEAR MILAN. THEIR NAME WENT ON A COLLECTION IN 1958.
07THAT WORKSHOP BECAME MISSONI, THE MILAN HOUSE KNOWN FOR ZIGZAG KNITS. IT STARTED WITH SPORTSWEAR, MADE BY A MAN WHO NEEDED IT.