Tied to aesthetic innovation and the invention of techniques that have changed the very identity of knitwear forever, Missoni is one of the world’s best-known and most popular fashion and design names, and the winner of countless awards.

The Missoni style reflects the successful venture of a husband-and- wife team: after they married in 1953, Tai and Rosita decided to start a knitwear business that went on to become an icon of Italian fashion in the mid-Sixties.

Missoni introduced and successfully established an unmistakable way of dressing and living: from the boldly colourful “put together” concept of zigzags, stripes, waves and flame stitches to patchworks of geometric and floral jacquards.

In 1969 Diana Vreeland, the famous fashion editor of American Vogue, defined their techniques as “ingenious”. Her comment: “Who said there are only colours, there are tones too!” Describing their clothing in an article published in a daily newspaper in 1979, the Italian journalist Maria Pezzi defined these fashions as “museum pieces that can nevertheless be worn”. And the Missoni story has since been marked by a plethora of public acknowledgements.

The couple became a family and their three children, Vittorio, Luca and Angela, born between 1954 and 1958, grew up in close contact with their parents’ work. Increasingly involved in the business on various levels, in turn they stepped into highly responsible positions to become the co-creators of a concept that – blending craftsmanship with high technology and aesthetic invention with the development of form – continues to enchant and thrill people everywhere. Today Missoni is one of the most widely respected ambassadors of Italian fashion and design around the world.

After launching its colourful aesthetic vision, the company continues to influence contemporary lifestyles, thanks also to the success of the Missoni Home line.

Founded in 1978 in Milan, Gianni Versace SpA is one of the leading international fashion design houses and a symbol of Italian luxury world-wide. It designs, manufactures, distributes and retails fashion and lifestyle products including haute couture, Prêt-à-Porter, accessories, jewellery, watches, eyewear, fragrances, and home furnishings all bearing the distinctive Medusa logo.

The Versace Group distributes its products through a world-wide D.O.S network which includes over 200 boutiques in the principal cities and over 1500 wholesalers worldwide.

Donatella Versace has been Artistic Director of Versace since 1997 and has steered the brand into the 21st century. Today, Versace represents its heritage through its strong and fearless designs, while addressing a new global audience which continues to strengthen Versace's position in contemporary In 2000 Gianni Versace Spa opened Palazzo Versace, the first hotel project to be branded by a luxury goods company, which provides tourists and travellers the opportunity to experience and enjoy the complete Versace lifestyle. The second Palazzo Versace built in Dubai opened in 2015. The third Palazzo Versace will be built in Macau, China.

In February 2014, Gianni Versace SpA announced its agreement with Blackstone to participate in the next phase of the Company's development. Blackstone owns 20 percent of the company; while the Versace family remains at its heart, with Ms. Allegra Versace Beck, Ms. Donatella Versace and Mr. Santo Versace all playing important roles in the company. Donatella Versace holds the dual role of Vice-President of the board and Artistic Director.

In May 2016, the Versace Group appointed Mr. Jonathan Akeroyd to the position of CEO and member of the company's Board of Directors.

Since its first show in 1970 at the Salon for Prêt-à-Porter in Paris, Florence-born Roberto Cavalli has been synonymous with glam, rock, and animal prints. His flamboyant Italian style caught on quickly, and by 1972 he opened his first boutique in Saint-Tropez, a perfect French Riviera resort location to sell his signature patchworks of different materials (a printing-on-leather procedure he patented in the early seventies). The decadent life of the designer—summers on yachts, gold on everything—translates into the label, which people go to for a taste of the over-the-top Italian lifestyle. So look to Cavalli for color, and lots of it. A genius when it comes to leather, his designs are wild, sexy, erotic, and fluid. To date, Cavalli has done it all—from menswear, to womenswear, to children's clothing, to a secondary line named Just Cavalli, to designs for the home.Today, the Roberto Cavalli brand comprises of men’s wear, women’s wear and accessories, eyewear, watches, jewelry, perfumes, underwear, and beachwear. Peter Dundas was appointed Creative Director of Roberto Cavalli in March 2015, directly handling the creativity for the RTW Women’s, Men’s and Accessories Collections, as well as the artistic direction of the Just Cavalli, Cavalli Class, Junior, and Home licences.

Born in 1914 to one of Florence's most illustrious families, the Marquis Emilio Pucci di Barsento naturally embodied the jet set glamour of post-war Italy. Multilingual, well-travelled, American-educated, air force pilot, Olympic skier and aristocrat – he was a Renaissance man in every sense of the term. Recovering in Switzerland after the war, and with the Italian economy in ruins, Pucci made ends meet by teaching Italian and giving ski lessons in Zermatt. It was there that in 1947 a streamlined ski outfit he designed, initially for himself and then for his enthusiastic socialite friends was photographed by a fashion photographer and published in Harper’s Bazaar USA, giving rise to a fashion phenomenon that continues to reverberate to this day.

Pucci was driven by the desire to liberate women, granting them unprecedented freedom of movement.

Setting up his atelier in the Pucci family’s grand palazzo in the heart of Florence, Emilio began working closely with expert fabric manufacturers in Italy to pioneer and patent revolutionary stretch fabrics that eschewed the heavy, rigid fabrications largely in circulation at that time. Contrary to his design contemporaries, Pucci was driven by the desire to liberate women, granting them unprecedented freedom of movement. His stretch silk and cotton jerseys were weightless, unlined, and wrinkle-proof - precursors for a modern, travel-friendly wardrobe that captivated a new generation of modern, active women.

His first boutique was La Canzone del Mare (The Song of the Sea) on the island of Capri, even then a glamorous resort destination, where he developed wearable yet chic sportswear: "Capri" pants, silk twill shirts with a masculine cut, open-toed sandals and striped jersey tops, all in refreshingly vibrant colours that evoked the island's natural beauty.

His designs featured sensual, free-flowing lines that followed the natural curves of the body - effortlessly elegant clothing which took women from day to evening...

He began showing his collections to international press and buyers in Florence in 1951. His designs featured sensual, free-flowing lines that followed the natural curves of the body -- effortlessly elegant clothing which took women from day to evening and from jets to seaside cocktail parties, perfectly complementing the lifestyle of the high-rolling, jet set crowd. The collections had the allure of couture but were shed of the impracticality and cost of haute couture, heralding the novel concept of designer ready-to-wear which had a cascade effect throughout the fashion industry.

Additionally, Emilio offered a holistic design vision that ranged to interiors, lingerie, eyewear, perfumes and more, providing an expanded group of consumers with access to designer goods for the first time. He lent his design talent to a variety of non-fashion projects as well, including, among others, futuristic airline uniforms, the logo for a space mission, and a luxury car.

As a colorist he was unparalleled and drew inspiration primarily from the natural landscapes of the Mediterranean, but also from the exotic locales to which he travelled.

It was during the '50s that Pucci began developing his signature prints: graphic, abstract designs inspired by the world around him – Sicilian mosaics, heraldic banners, Bali Batiks, and African motifs. It was the first time that such pulsing geometric patterns had been incorporated into clothing and the effect was highly original, so much so that the international fashion press, smitten by his bold, radical approach, crowned him "The Prince of Prints". Each print was like a work of art born upon a silk canvas, framed with a decorative border and signed in the artist’s name – "Emilio". He brought a luscious, bright colour palette to his craft. As a colorist he was unparalleled and drew inspiration primarily from the natural landscapes of the Mediterranean, but also from the exotic locales to which he travelled. The result was a sophisticated fusion of colour which became the hallmark of Pucci design. Instantly recognisable, Pucci’s glorious and joyful combinations exude energy and emotion and allow the designs of the clothes themselves to remain relatively simple.

In the 1980s Emilio's daughter, Laudomia Pucci, became increasingly more involved in her father's business, ultimately taking the reins following his passing in 1992. In April 2000, an alliance was formed between the Pucci family and LVMH, with the French luxury group acquiring 67% of the company and the family retaining a vested interest. With the Group’s financial support and expertise the brand has soared on the international fashion stage and in a relatively short time has built up a global network that now includes over 50 boutiques in global fashion capitals and a footprint in the world’s foremost luxury retailers.

... The brand has soared on the international fashion stage and in a relatively short time has built up a global network that now includes over 50 boutiques... In March 2015 the Italian designer Massimo Giorgetti was appointed Creative Director. Working out of the company headquarters in Palazzo Pucci in Florence, he carries on the trailblazing vision of founder Emilio through his ready-to-wear and accessories collections, as well as through special projects. The Emilio Pucci product line includes apparel, handbags, small leather goods, footwear, eyewear, beachwear and silk accessories. Recent years have seen the birth of co-branding initiatives with Guerlain and Veuve Clicquot, licenses with Rossignol, Wolford, Parfums Luxe and Bisazza and high impact artistic creations such as a 300-foot hand-painted gennaker for Wally yachts and the wrapping of the Florence baptistery with a giant-sized archival print created in its honour.

A major influence in contemporary fashion, Emilio Pucci's legacy continues to be a seminal force behind the birth of the "made in Italy" style and a milestone in Italy’s luxury sportswear concept.