MUNICH: I am happy to meet Margherita Missoni at the DLD Women Conference in Munich. She is part of the Missoni heritage, responsible for the design and the best ambassador for her own family brand. She is also extremely relaxed and at ease with herself, which makes it a pleasure to talk to her.
Margherita, you are often shown in the glossy pages surrounded by your internationally known friends like Andrea Casiraghi, Tatjana Santo Domingo, Delfina Delettrez, enjoying a jet set holiday. Can you explain to me why this style works so well for Missoni?
Well, it might seem that we are always vacationing, but at the end of the day we have to work very hard. The jet set image works well with our design because people like to wear comfortable, chic clothes and they love colour when they are on vacation. We cannot pay a celebrity to wear our product so we have to make the best with what we have.
You became an It Girl and where did you go from there?
I went to New York where I studied acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. I never planned to become an It Girl. Six years ago I decided to move and now I live in the Italian countryside, which was a big change coming from New York. I love to be where I am now.
What inspires your work?
Everything. I love to do so many things. Travel, art, eating good food (not cooking, I don’t like cooking!), going for a walk in the woods. All these things stimulate my creativity.
How do you see print magazines in comparison to the social media?
I think that there is always a big hype when something is new. After a while the hype becomes less and then everything will find its place. Magazines can make a choice, they can edit, which I think is good. Print is one channel among many.
The 2010 spring ad campaign, shot by Jürgen Teller, will always stay in my mind. It revealed such a private side of your entire family.
Yes, it was an outstanding campaign. I remember the night Jürgen came to our house in Italy and we had almost 10 bottles of red wine and lots of fun taking these pictures.
At that time that campaign was already almost like a private Instagram account.
Yes, even more personal because Jürgen’s pictures don’t have a filter.
How much does your family inspire you for your design?
It is great that we are so many different generations doing the same thing, designing clothes. Every one of us brings something different from their generation and when we mix it all up it gets interesting.
Thank you, Margherita!
