Fodor's Expert Review Missoni

Notable for its lightweight bohemian knitwear designs with instantly recognizable patterns of zigzags, waves, and stripes (some of which are influenced by folk art), the now high-end brand started in northern Italy producing tracksuits in the 1950s. Missoni now designs everything from elegant evening wear to must-have swimsuits, and is unlike other Italian fashion families: in three generations there have been neither vendettas nor buyouts by huge multinational conglomerates to stain their colorful history.