The zigzag walk to fame

Never the one to imitate trends, Rosita Missoni, 81, believes in celebrating life, fashion and togetherness through colour

The plait that tails off at the end of her salt-and-pepper mane is unmistakeable. Though she greets you with an endearing smile, the pain in Rosita Missoni's face is evident. "Last year, I lost the two people most dearest to me in this world - my son Vittorio (his plane disappeared over the Venezuelan Coast); and my beloved husband Ottavio. But I have learnt to deal with the pain and I must carry on."

Despite the loss, the matriarch and founder of the legendary designer label, Missoni, has not let this affect the brand. She has retained the charm of the label and maintained the philosophy of not making designs a victim of trends.

The roots of the brand were sown when Rosita met Tai (as Ottavio was fondly known), a runner at the Olympics, while she was studying English. After a whirlwind romance, the duo got married and launched a knitwear label in Gallarate, Italy.

Since then zig zags, geometric patterns, waves and stripes have been constant in Missoni designs. Such has been their loyalty to these patterns that in 1967, Missoni asked models to remove their bras from under the sheer blouses at a fashion show as they clashed with the patterns.

It's clear that she doesn't believe in trends. "We celebrate life, fashion, togetherness through colour and try not to follow what others are doing, as imitation will always be just that-- a copy," says Missoni, who was in the capital for India Design 2014.

Love for vibrancy runs in the family. Missoni mentions that she even tried to wean her late husband away from his obsession with purple, albeit unsuccessfully. "Ottavio would add a little purple in all his lines. In Italy, actors and celebs don't consider it a very lucky hue. Even then, it was a trend we created and is still omnipresent in all our lines," she says.

Missoni believes that a modern woman who understands fashion will court austerity and let luscious knits do the talking. "Knits have been our mainstay, but we keep innovating. This time, Africa (Ivory Coast) was our theme, so we had hues of terracotta blending in with olive tones and luxe jacquards," she says, adding, "two ends of the spectrum - free flowing dresses and body hugging numbers - are catching the fancy of fashionistas alike."

Missoni, 81, admits to being a big admirer of Coco Chanel, and her design philosophy. "Very few in this world get a chance to make a hobby into a profession, I was one of them so I followed my heart. Coco was a maverick at shapes, which connected with all types of women," she says.

Tired of the daily demands of the fashion world, Missoni hung up her boots in 1997 to look after her grandchildren. "I took them to school two days in a week, it was bliss, but I am not one who to like retirement, I love deadlines and madness. So I came back to launch Missoni home. I was a collector of designer furniture, I frequented museums so I had an idea of what homes could be transformed into. When we saw copies of our first collection, I knew that we must have done something right," she laughs.

An Indophile who trusts the power of indigenous printing and weaving techniques, Missoni says, "I love patchwork. The watercolours effect that our new line has looks like it has been hand painted. Coming here I have realised, there is so much this country can teach us, it is simply amazing."