The Missoni family, whose name the iconic Italian fashion house bares, this morning announced that Ottavio Missoni, who founded the brand along with his wife Rosita, ‘passed away peacefully’ at his home in Italy.

Famed for zig-zag knits and stripes, the label is as popular with today’s famous and fashionable, including Kate Middleton, as it was in 1967 when controversy rippled through Florence’s Palazzo Pitti as a little more of the models than expected was visible through the delicate knits under the bright catwalk lights. 

Early supporter, the late fashion editor Anna Piaggi, once credited the Missonis with starting a ‘knitwear revolution’, as and as this gallery of the label’s finest moments, from its conception in 1953, to the present day goes to show, she was right on the money. 

Details of the funeral are to be announced soon.