The Missoni family lives life in color. They didn’t just revolutionize knitwear; they forged a lifestyle that, like their fashion, blends elegance with enthusiasm and spontaneity with sophistication. Missoni style is recognized and admired all over the world and is collected by fashionistas and museums alike. This same streak of easy glamour also inspires Missoni family’s entertaining, and their dinner parties have become one of the most coveted invitations of fashion week. Lush and informal at the same time, a Missoni feast is not just a kaleidoscope of style with four generations of family wearing Missoni — it’s a kaleidoscope of tastes, scents, and colors. So when Angela Missoni eschewed models for the brand’s Spring 2010 campaign, and asked friend and collaborator Juergen Teller to shoot three generations of Missonis instead, it made perfect sense. Natural ambassadors of the brand’s approachable, real-life appeal, Teller’s portraits showed Angela’s son Francesco goofing around with giant gamberi, Margherita grinning over her empty plate, and co-founder and Grandpa Ottavia generously offering up a bottle of red. Her two grown-up daughters, Margherita and Teresa, are both working in the fashion industry. “So far, I feel helped, I feel supported,” says Angela of the new business structure. “Also, you know, we still own a majority stake.”

In a small pan over medium heat, melt 5 tablespoons of the butter until very hot. Pour it over the Parmigiano-Reggiano and asparagus, melting the cheese. Step 5 Some recipes are attached to different family members, like Rosita Missoni’s mini pizza recipe or the calf liver that Ottavio Missoni used to cook for the family. There’s also a section dedicated to party food, which highlights all the desserts the Missonis bake for family celebrations. It’s extremely competitive to find a space to make your voice heard in the digital world, so it’s important for us to keep talking about who we are and always use the right words,” said Missoni. “That’s why I did a campaign with Juergen Teller eight years ago. I wanted to show that we were real, we were a family not a marketing project, we had a soul and our product was something very personal. So, we pictured our family laughing, eating, drinking and just being together. That was eight years ago, now we have to keep communicating and projects like the cookbook will help tell the story.” In a pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining butter. As soon as the butter starts bubbling, add the eggs in batches, taking care not to crowd them, and fry them. Repeat until all of the eggs have been fried. Remove from the heat. Step 6 At a time when brands are putting more and more value into lifestyle beyond fashion, Missoni is at an advantage, having always embodied the concept of a lifestyle brand.Did the food influence the fashion? “In a very abstract way, yes,” she says. “Designing clothes is a lot like cooking — you have to have the right ingredients. This collection was about a woman entering the workforce and there’s something very feminine about giving people food and nourishing them — perhaps it’s the Latin in me.” We call her Angela Teller, the sister of Juergen [Teller],” said Maccapani Missoni, who never misses an opportunity to tease his mother.

Drain and individually plate the asparagus, counting 5 stalks per person. Generously cover the lower half of the asparagus with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Step 4 And herein lies the reason that so many designers are so preoccupied by cooking: food and the domestic life it represents provides a rich and potent framework for fashion. It’s no coincidence that everyone from Gucci to Burberry to Ralph Lauren runs their own restaurants and cafés (Armani even has his own chocolate, Armani Dolci). Positioned in store or out, they bring a social dimension to the brand, slowing down the retail experience and allowing customers to savour their products for longer. The imagery of the food was also shot to showcase what a typical Missoni dinner table looks like, complete with mismatched, colorful Missoni china, printed tablecloths and fresh flowers. When the pudding reaches room temperature, cover the mold with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 2 hours, or until cold throughout. p>Francesco Maccapani Missoni is the son of Angela Missoni and Marco Maccapani and the grandson of Tai and Rosita Missoni, founders of the eponymous fashion brand. He was born in 1985 and grew up in the countryside outside Milan, surrounded by his boisterous extended family. He studied architecture in college and is passionate about design, film, and contemporary art. He now heads a startup based in Milan and is, as they affectionately say, una buona forchetta (a gourmand). Food and cooking are his passions, with a strong emphasis on family traditions, sustainable sources, local produce, and fresh seasonal ingredients.

The iced coffee fuelling the pre-show frenzy at the Missoni headquarters on Saturday was being served in jewel-toned goblets, in keeping with the colourful history of the house, but for the anniversary collection Angela “went looking for neutral colours that weren’t beige”, taking inspiration from vintage fabrics she photographed on a visit to Peru earlier this year. She has put together a soft blend of sand, pale blue, pearly white and dusky pink for the catwalk. Two recipes – the budino chocolate desert and baked rigatoni – will feature in the menu of Daphne’s, a much-loved Italian restaurant in London’s Chelsea area, until July.

The book offers a very personal look into the life of the Missonis and it comes at a time when the family is readying to celebrate a series of big milestones: “Two weeks ago was my parents’ wedding anniversary, they would be celebrating 65 years of marriage. To have something so personal, like a souvenir book, come out close to their marriage anniversary is very special,” said Angela Missoni, who marked 20 years at the helm of the company last year and is also planning the brand’s big 65th anniversary celebrations in September. Communicating this sense of reality has always been important for the label and is becoming even more so as it looks to the future.Of course, another way to ensure your guests mix is to lay on a buffet. That’s the winning formula of the family’s beloved Milan Fashion Week gatherings, the antithesis of a stereotypical fashion party where tiny, joyless canapes circle the room. “It’s easy and convivial. People can come and go, and nobody ever feels stressed about having to sit next to anybody they don’t want to talk to.” To serve, firmly hold a plate over the mold and carefully flip it over. The budino should slide out easily; if it does not, dip the mold in hot water for 5 to 10 seconds, then flip it. FSI spotted a business opportunity at Missoni, which has global brand recognition but remains a comparatively small business. In 2016 profits stood at €8m. “Our name is bigger than our company,” says Angela. “With investment, we can distribute more product, we can develop more menswear, more lifestyle.”