Missoni - The All-Things Missoni Thread

[tourbillions]

Having a separate design team for menswear? Another pointless idea.

their current menswear is not bad at all, why do they need a seperate one. Kind of like hermes, the current missoni men has a purpose and isnt too gimmicky albeit a bit loud.

 

[callmejaeden]

Missoni May Soon Become Part of the Authentic Brands Portfolio: Sources​

After talks to buy Marc Jacobs by the New York-based brand management and marketing firm ended, it turned its attention to Missoni.​

By Luisa Zargani, Jean E. Palmieri
November 11, 2025, 4:06pm

A look from Missoni's spring 2026 show at Milan Fashion Week. Courtesy of Missoni
Authentic Brands Group is in exclusive negotiations to purchase the Missoni brand, according to sources. If things go according to plan, a deal is expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Authentic, the New York-based owner of Reebok, Champion and other high-profile brands, declined to comment.

The Missoni family owns 58.8 percent of the shares of the company while an investor, Fondo Strategico Italiano, bought a 41.2 percent stake in 2018. The line is designed by Alberto Caliri. Angela Missoni, daughter of the late founders Tai and Rosita, is the president of the company while her brother Luca is in charge of special events and exhibitions.

The Missoni company, led by chief executive officer Livio Proli, had no comment Tuesday on the sale speculation.

However, according to sources, Missoni fits well into the Authentic playbook, which is to purchase brands with global potential and the ability to be licensed into an array of products.

“It fits into their business model,” one source said. “It’s global and has multiple categories.”

Although WHP Global, a smaller competitor to Authentic in the brand management space, was also interested in Missoni, its interest has waned. Instead, it is said to be pursuing a purchase of Lands’ End, which said earlier this year that it was exploring strategic alternatives. WHP did not respond to requests for comment on Lands’ End or Missoni.

Missoni is higher priced than many of the brands in the Authentic portfolio, but the company has recently been exploring a deeper move into the luxury space. It has a joint venture with Saks Global in a business called the Authentic Luxury Group, which includes a focus on its Barneys New York, Judith Leiber Couture, Hervé Legér and Vince brands.

Most recently, Authentic was in active negotiations to buy Marc Jacobs from LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton. But those negotiations ended recently and sources said LVMH is not currently seeking to sell the brand. “It’s on hold for now,” the source said. “It could be for a year, two years, or forever. No one knows.”

The source added that Authentic’s founder and chief executive officer, Jamie Salter, had grown quite fond of Marc Jacobs, the designer, who still has an interest in the company. Apparently Jacobs still wants to hold runway shows and develop his high-end collection and although Authentic had apparently been willing to allow that for a limited amount of time, it wasn’t going to be forever, so the deal didn’t happen.

“It had nothing to do with money,” the source said. “Authentic wasn’t asking for a discount but Marc still wanted his fashion shows and his Met Gala looks, which are very important to him and his brand. Nobody should buy Marc Jacobs without Marc Jacobs. They wanted a happy Marc and that wasn’t going to happen, so the talks ended.”

Like many deals, some may look good on paper, but just like pre-arranged marriages, they may be difficult to be accepted by the parties — and eventually fall through. One extenuating circumstance for brands such as Missoni and Etro, which has also been rumored to be for sale for years, is that the founding families are still invested in those companies and can put the brakes on any sale.

Yvonne Pengue, founder and director of London-based executive search firm Spot on Minds, said that “behind family-owned companies, there is this real, consistent effort to build the business long-term, rather than seeking a short-term win, uplift in sales, or retail expansion. It’s much more careful. On the other hand, innovation sometimes could be a little bit slower in order to preserve the brand’s founding legacy.”

Pengue believe “there could be a fear that the outside buyer will prioritize profit over purpose or dilute the brand’s essence. The most successful acquisitions are the ones where the buyer commits to heritage and maintaining the values, the identity and the codes of the brand, while evolving them and growing the brand. It takes a lot of courage to sell a company that bears your name and you want it to be in a safe pair of hands. Because with the families, it’s about emotions, more than pragmatism. As we say, emotion is often the biggest shareholder — the brand carries your name, and so it’s about your identity and how it will be brought to future generations.”

She does not think one entity in particular, whether a private equity fund or a large fashion conglomerate, is more fit than another for this kind of deal. “The winners are those that have a long-term vision, and the right approach in relating to the families,” said Pengue.

Massimiliano Giornetti, creative director of Drumhor and director of fashion school Polimoda, is knowledgeable about the dynamics of a family company as in 2016 he left his role as creative director of Salvatore Ferragamo — famously passed on from the namesake founder to a large number of heirs — after first joining the brand in 2000.

“A brand’s authenticity stems from the intuition of one or more family members that throughout their lives work to preserve the values of that brand. Typical Italian family companies are passed on from generation to generation, and these are often niche, artisanal companies,” said Giornetti. “It is key to preserve that position, they cannot be stretched so much that they lose their values, and the objective should be to grow in a fluid and organic way.”

For this reason, the family becomes “protective of the brand to guarantee its future aligned with its essence,” and a key negotiator in any sale discussion. “Family companies are like fragile micro-organisms, they are made by pieces that fall into place as in a puzzle, and when one piece is missing, problems can arise, as we’ve seen, also at the time of generational handovers,” continued the designer.

He argued that large American managerial groups may “have different missions,” and may be distant from this kind of world, which leads to lengthy discussions to seal a deal — or not. The Ferragamo company itself has been said to be for sale for years, although the family has repeatedly denied this. The brand is now in the midst of a turnaround, designed by Maximilian Davis, and awaiting the arrival of a new CEO following the exit of Marco Gobbetti in March.

Missoni, spring 2026 Courtesy of Missoni
In the case of Missoni, Andrea Paolo Mainardi, cofounder and CEO of Strategic Advisors Group, suggested that the family and Fondo Strategico Italiano “are willing to divest their full stakes, which would give [Authentic] complete control of the brand.”

In his opinion, Missoni is attractive because, “despite a slight dip” in sales to 120 million euros in 2024, Missoni has demonstrated a dramatic turnaround in profitability under CEO Proli. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization skyrocketed to 16.6 million euros from 2.1 million euros a year earlier. Net income reached 8.9 million euros, a significant recovery from a previous loss. “This financial discipline makes the makes the brand an attractive asset for global expansion under a company like [Authentic].”

Andrea Randone, head of Mid & Small Caps Research at Intermonte, said that regarding deals of companies with family ownership, “Most of the time, the family sells because business is suffering or due to a generational change,” as in the case of Giorgio Armani, following the death of the designer on Sept. 4. “To deal with an individual owner is one thing, another is to deal with a family and their complexities.”

As reported, last December, Rothschild was given a mandate to seek an investor in the Etro company. L Catterton acquired a majority stake in Etro in July 2021. Sources say it is not clear what kind of deal either L Catterton or the Etro family are looking for, whether a full exit or the sale of a stake. Speculation about a disinvestment has been circulating on and off for years. Founder Gerolamo Etro, known as Gimmo, is chairman of the company, which was first established in 1968 as a textile firm. His children Veronica, Kean and Jacopo, who were previously creative directors of the women’s, men’s and home collections, respectively, left their roles and were succeeded by Marco De Vincenzo in 2022.

Etro, spring 2026 Courtesy of Etro
In its recent report, “European Retailing Primer,” RBC Capital Markets analysts said the apparel sector is “mature,” but still offers “high margins at full price.” In the report, the analysts “believe that M&A has been an increasing theme in the sector since the pandemic, with a polarization in performance resulting in the stronger players in the space acquiring struggling businesses at good prices.”

According to Deloitte’s Fashion & Luxury Private Equity and Investors Survey 2025, 90 percent of investors will continue to invest in the fashion and luxury sector, despite the impact of the U.S. tariffs. M&A operations have slowed down, with 333 deals registered in 2024 globally, 25 less compared with 2023. The first half of 2025 confirmed the slowdown with 162 deals, a 14 percent decrease compared with the same period last year.

The areas of most interest are cosmetics and perfumes (25 percent), followed by apparel and accessories production (24 percent).

wwd.com

 

[PDFSD]

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Puck NEWS​

Missoni Impossible​

The family-owned Italian brand may have more unmet potential than any heritage fashion house. And ABG, which is attempting to acquire the company, has the capital to unleash the opportunity. But at what cost?
Inner Circle Exclusive

Internally at Missoni, many employees and other executives have bristled at Proli’s approach, noting his obsession with provocative and promiscuous clothing. Photo: LaPresse/Alamy

November 20, 2025
Earlier this week, I started looking into Authentic Brands Group’s potential acquisition of Missoni, the Italian fashion house best known for its unforgettable zigzag knit. I say potential, if only because we know how precarious these deals can be—especially with ABG. Founder and C.E.O. Jamie Salter has demonstrated a willingness to pay a premium for premium brands. But Salter’s price requires the total control that naturally comes with any asset transaction, and yet historically befuddles many fashion people and creatives who yearn for the right owner who will respect the heritage, etcetera.
These aren’t unreasonable asks, of course, but it’s not how ABG operates. Salter strips out unnecessary costs, makes ruthless and unsentimental decisions, and finds commercial opportunities that are alternatively brilliant and heinously tacky, such as those Barneys condos in Tulum or the Sports Illustrated soccer stadium in Harrison, New Jersey. ABG’s recent attempt to acquire Marc Jacobs from LVMH fell apart over related reasons. It’s pretty hard to imagine Salter’s executives agreeing to the runway when all they probably wanted was to optimize the tote business.
Similar concerns abound with any such Missoni transaction. ABG, which is U.S.-based, would likely erase what is left of the brand’s history once it takes control. I’ve heard that Fondo Strategico Italiano (FSI), the state-backed private equity fund that took a significant minority stake in the family-owned business in 2018, would prefer a European buyer—or at least one who keeps the operations based in Italy—and would like to stay in the business to ensure that the main line continues to be made on the ground there. FSI, after all, has a unique investment thesis: The firm buys into Italian-based family businesses in which the heirs still participate, promising them the resources to globalize their operations. Just the archives of Missoni, which was founded in the early 1950s by Ottavio and Rosita Missoni, are worth a lot of money—at least to Italians, but maybe to someone else too.
And yet, money always wins. The multiple strategic groups and private investors who have shown interest in the business over the past couple years—I’ve heard everyone from former Gucci C.E.O. Marco Bizzarri to Mayhoola reviewed it—never took a deal over the line because of the financial demands of FSI. The company, which poured in €70 million in exchange for a 41.2 percent interest, apparently wanted to double the valuation—which, of course, would be almost $400 million.
Few of the remaining independent fashion houses have as much promise as Missoni, a point I’ve heard reiterated for years by investors, executives, and designers. Its use of Raschel weaving machines has created a distinctive warped knit that’s recognized all over the world. And like Ralph Lauren, it has an alluring visual identity that appeals across cohorts and can play easily in dozens of different categories. As its smash-hit 2011 collection with Target proved, it comps well to Ralph, which sells as easily at Kohl’s as it does at Bergdorf Goodman. At one point, Missoni x Target was the big-box retailer’s largest one-off collaboration ever, both in terms of revenue and number of products offered (more than 220, including a bicycle). Target’s e-comm operations initially crashed under the demand.
So far, however, that name recognition hasn’t translated to massive sales for the business itself. The brand currently generates well under €150 million a year in revenue. And yet that slim figure is part of what excites investors, including ABG.

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Family Stuff​

Very unlike the Laurens, however, the Missoni family was not business-oriented. The Missonis never hired a real C.E.O. while different family members played different roles. Ottavio died in 2013 at 92; Rosita died earlier this year at 93. Angela Missoni, their daughter, took charge of creative in the 1990s and remained in the position for two decades. Her brother Vittorio ostensibly ran the business, but he died in a plane crash in the same year as their father. Their other brother, Luca, is a visual artist who managed the archive for years. While the Missoni business made the family very rich, it did not make them billionaires. There was no surprise when they sold a meaningful stake in 2018, especially to FSI, with its family deference and intentions to honor the integrity of its heritage brands. Anyway, for all involved, this was presumably a stairstep deal to get to the real liquidity event.
The vast majority of the FSI investment was deployed as capex in the hopes of globalizing the operation and attracting the attention of a major strategic buyer—maybe Kering, maybe OTB, maybe LVMH. At first, FSI engaged the family on an expected basis, bringing on Angela’s daughter, Margherita, to design M Missoni, the diffusion line. But communication between the investment firm and the family’s multiple factions soon broke down, I’m told.
The family obviously owns a majority of the business, but FSI negotiated for various rights. Soon after it took its stake, FSI installed operating partner Michele Norsa, who spent time managing Valentino, before it was sold, and the then-independent Salvatore Ferragamo. Norsa is a well-regarded executive, but, at 77, is “from another era,” as someone close to the business put it. Soon, both Angela and Margherita—who was featured prominently in the brand’s Target campaigns and is viewed by many as its clear creative successor—were phased out of the business.
Norsa eventually went back to Ferragamo, and Livio Proli, a longtime deputy of Giorgio Armani, was appointed C.E.O. in 2020. Proli was certainly part of Armani’s inner circle—he served as the business’s managing director—but little was known of him outside that company, rife with its own interpersonal dynamics and controversies. Internally at Missoni, many employees and other executives have bristled at Proli’s approach, noting his obsession with provocative and promiscuous clothing (one of his favorite mottos, according to multiple employees, is “la figa vende,” or… just Google it). He also hates color, they say, an important part of the Missoni brand book.
And then there was the exit of creative director Filippo Grazioli, who was fired from the role after just two years. Grazioli, viewed by the industry as an intriguing young talent, got wind of his exit months before it was announced—and while Proli was denying it in the press. When I reported that he was on his way out in July 2024, and that his fall 2024 show would be his last, the company issued a flat-out denial. In October, his exit was announced. (His predecessor, Alberto Caliri, became his successor.) Meanwhile, the family association has entirely dissolved publicly, and I’m told that Proli and his team share little financial information with the majority shareholders. (A rep for the company declined to comment on all of the above.)
In 2023, the same year that FSI hired Rothschild to explore a sale of Missoni, Margherita launched a new line: Maccapani, her father Marco’s family name. Maccapani, in many ways, is what a modern Missoni could be—sans zigzag, company heritage, and pure luxury positioning. But that zigzag is really what ABG presumably would be buying. “This is the sort of deal where you can have $2 billion in purchase orders overnight,” one interested investor told me.
In the end, ABG will likely win because of its ability to fulfill such orders. A strategic group or more taste-driven private investor would want to keep Missoni’s position as a luxury brand, but they wouldn’t want to pay what FSI is asking. “It’s pretty amazing, and shows the power of the brand management companies and the lack of traditional luxury buyers for these smaller legacy fashion brands,” said one person who reviewed the deal. “They will milk the licenses all over the world… and categories.”
Is that a good or bad thing? I guess it depends on your level of cynicism. From one view, ABG will do what should have always been done: use Missoni’s instantly legible identity to make a lot of money. But they will also inevitably degrade its value. (When I reached out to family matriarch Angela Missoni about this, she did not respond.) As they say in Italian, che peccato!

 

[LadyJunon]

The family obviously owns a majority of the business, but FSI negotiated for various rights. Soon after it took its stake, FSI installed operating partner Michele Norsa, who spent time managing Valentino, before it was sold, and the then-independent Salvatore Ferragamo. Norsa is a well-regarded executive, but, at 77, is “from another era,” as someone close to the business put it. Soon, both Angela and Margherita—who was featured prominently in the brand’s Target campaigns and is viewed by many as its clear creative successor—were phased out of the business.
Norsa eventually went back to Ferragamo, and Livio Proli, a longtime deputy of Giorgio Armani, was appointed C.E.O. in 2020. Proli was certainly part of Armani’s inner circle—he served as the business’s managing director—but little was known of him outside that company, rife with its own interpersonal dynamics and controversies. Internally at Missoni, many employees and other executives have bristled at Proli’s approach, noting his obsession with provocative and promiscuous clothing (one of his favorite mottos, according to multiple employees, is “la figa vende,” or… just Google it). He also hates color, they say, an important part of the Missoni brand book.
And then there was the exit of creative director Filippo Grazioli, who was fired from the role after just two years. Grazioli, viewed by the industry as an intriguing young talent, got wind of his exit months before it was announced—and while Proli was denying it in the press. When I reported that he was on his way out in July 2024, and that his fall 2024 show would be his last, the company issued a flat-out denial. In October, his exit was announced. (His predecessor, Alberto Caliri, became his successor.) Meanwhile, the family association has entirely dissolved publicly, and I’m told that Proli and his team share little financial information with the majority shareholders. (A rep for the company declined to comment on all of the above.)

FYI: "la figa vende" translates to "sex sells". "Figa" is Italian for "fig", often used as slang for a woman's vagina. This explains why Grazioli's collections for the brand often leaned towards sexy.

 

[jeanclaude]

FYI: "la figa vende" translates to "sex sells". "Figa" is Italian for "fig", often used as slang for a woman's vagina. This explains why Grazioli's collections for the brand often leaned towards sexy.

It´s still a very boring puss.y...