Rosita Missoni of Italy's eponymous fashion house dies age 93

Rome: Rosita Missoni, the co founder with her husband of Italy s colourful knitwear label Missoni, has died at age 93, a government official confirmed...

Rome: Rosita Missoni, the co-founder with her husband of Italy's colourful knitwear label Missoni, has died at age 93, a government official confirmed on Thursday.

Missoni's death was confirmed by the president of the Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, who praised the Missoni brand's "famous multicoloured textures".

"The passing of Rosita Missoni, a Lombard stylist and entrepreneur known throughout the world, saddens us. A great loss for Italy, Lombardy and for the province of Varese where she was born and lived," Fontana wrote in a statement.

Missoni helped develop the signature look of the eponymous brand, lauded by influential fashion journalist Bernadine Morris in 1977 as one that had "elevated knitting to an art form".

Long a fixture of Italian fashion, Missoni in 1953 co-founded the line that became instantly recognisable for its distinctive zigzag patterns and unabashed use of colour.