After the war, Ottavio and his team-mate
Giorgio Oberweger launched an
activewear business in Trieste making wool
tracksuits, which they called Venjulia suits. The success of the Venjulia suits, which took into account the need of athletes for functional, warm garments enabling freedom of movement, led to their being worn by the Italian Olympic team in 1948. In 1953, following his marriage to Rosita (whose family ran a shawl-making business), the Missonis set up Maglificio Jolly, a
machine-knitwear workshop in
Gallarate. which contributed significantly to the development of Italian
sportswear as a challenge to the American industry. In 1965,
Anna Piaggi covered Missoni in an article for
Arianna, a magazine published by
Mondadori. She continued to actively promote Missoni through her long career as a fashion journalist, including writing their press releases whilst at
Vogue Italia in the 1980s. This helped bring Missoni to the attention of the wider world, as did a joint collection with
Emmanuelle Khanh in 1965. In 1974,
Jennifer Hocking of ''Harper's Bazaar
and Queen'' selected male and female ensembles by Missoni as the
Dress of the Year for the
Fashion Museum, Bath. In 1976 Ottavio was named one of the ten most elegant men in the world, sharing the list with
Robert Redford and
Charles, Prince of Wales. In 1983, Ottavio and Rosita designed their first stage costumes for a production of
Lucia di Lammermoor, starring
Luciano Pavarotti, at the
La Scala opera house in Milan. In 1991 an exhibition in
Yūrakuchō, Tokyo, was held of Ottavio's tapestries, the first time they had been displayed in Japan. ==Awards==