Vittorio Missoni Nicole Leishman

Vittorio Missoni Vittorio Missoni was born in 1954 in Lombardy, Italy. His parents were Ottavi and Rosita. His parents started the knit wear brand Missoni in In 1958 the first garments with their label on it appeared in stores. At this time they had two more children Luca and Angela. By the mid 60’s the zigzag pattern known by everyone was becoming very successful. Vittorio and his siblings grew up in the world of fashion, they met many fashion legends and posed for many photos. In the late 60’s the Missoni’s moved their headquarters from Lombardy to Milan.

In 1996 Ottavi and Rosita passed the leadership of Missoni down to their three children. Each child took a different role in the company. Angela and Luca took creative control. While Vittorio led the manufacturing and marketing sides of the company. Eventually his role turned to become company's chief executive in the U.S. and Europe. He initiated the brand’s global expansion after During the next 15 years Missoni became a household name in fashion and lifestyle, not only in clothes but also household items.

Most recently in 2011 Missoni worked on a line with Target, which was a big hit and sold out very quickly. On January 4, 2013 a private plane carrying Vittorio, his wife and 2 crew members disappeared off the coast of Venezuela.

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Halston

Roy Halston Frowick Halston was born April 23, 1932 in Des Moines Iowa. He was the son of a Norwegian-American accountant and his wife. Later in life he dropped his first and last name, he preferred just Halston. Growing up he loved to make and alter clothes for his sister and mother. He went to Indiana University and then the Art Institute of Chicago. He took night classes there and worked as a fashion merchandiser for the department store Carson Pirie Scott. After that he met a hairdresser named Andre Basil. He owned a prestigious salon at the Ambassador Hotel. Andre set up a display of Halston’s hats. Basil then opened a salon on North Michigan Ave and offered half the space for display. In 1959 their relationship ended. Halston then moved to New York to take a designing position with milliner Lily Dache.

Within a year of being in NY he was hired to serve as head milliner for luxury retailer Bergdorf Goodman. In 1961, Jacqueline Kennedy made his work famous when she wore one of his hats to her husbands presidential inauguration. His cliental then grew to Rita Hayworth, Liza Minnelli, Marlene Dietrich and Diana Vreeland. In 1966, he started designing women's wear. His line was sexy but still elegant. In 1972 he introduced a simple shirtwaist dress made from Ultra Suede, it was washable, durable and beautiful. Then in 1974 he came out with the halter dress, it was an instant hit giving women a narrow elongated look. He then made an agreement with JC Penny, he made designs that all women on any income could afford. He was also known for uniform design, specially with Braniff International Airways uniforms.

The other side of Halston many people did not know. He had a run with drugs which effected his work. In 1984 he was fired from his own company and lost rights to his company to design and sell under his name. But he continued to design for his friends Liza Minnelli and Martha Graham. He was know in the nightlife in NYC. Halston was soon then diagnosed with Aids. In 1990 he died of lung cancer, and complication of AIDS in San Francisco CA.