Rosita Missoni, the matriarch of the iconic Italian fashion house that made colorful zigzag-patterned knitwear high fashion and helped launched Italian ready-to-wear, died Jan.1 at her home in Sumirago, Italy. She was 93 at the time of her demise.

The news was confirmed by the president of Italy’s Lombardy region, Attilio Fontana, who praised the brand’s iconic ‘multicolored textures.’ He described her death as ‘a great loss for Italy, Lombardy and for the province of Varese where she was born and lived.’

Local officials also joined in offering condolences on Thursday and recalled Missoni’s ties to the small northern Italian city of Gallarate where the Missoni brand was born in an artisan’s shop in 1953.

Born Rosita Jelmini, Missoni grew up in a family that owned textile factory widely known for producing shawls. She met Ottavio Missoni in 1948 when she was a student in London studying English. He was a hurdler with the Italian Olympic team.

When she met and married Ottavio Missoni, they together founded their eponymous fashion house in Gallarate that would eventually turn into a fashion dynasty, with the couple’s three children and their offspring involved in expanding the brand.

The Missoni’s first break came way back in 1958, when the Rinascente department store commissioned 500 colorful vertically stripped shirt dresses- the first to carry the Missoni label. They first showed their collection in Milan in 1966 and the brand helped turn the city into a fashion hub.

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The brand garnered unexpected global attention in what was dubbed the ‘battle of the bras’ in 1967. Just before a fashion show in Florence, Ms. Missoni noticed the models’ bras were visible through the fabric- an oversight she said spoiled the mix of color and pattern.

She said the models go without bras, but the runway lighting showed all. Missoni was not invited to the show the following year. However, the brand had already made a splash, with coverage in top fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue, and Marie Claire.

In 2013, the family endured a double tragedy. The eldest Missoni son and the company’s chief executive, Vittorio Missoni, died when a plane carrying him and five others disappeared off the coast of Venezuela. It took 6 months to trace the plane wreckage in the sea. During the search, Ottavio Missoni died at age 92 in May 2013.

Survivors include two other children; a brother, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.