How fashion heiress Margherita Missoni organises her wardrobe

When your hand-me-downs come from Rosita and Angela Missoni, the matriarchs of the Missoni fashion and homewares dynasty, you’re pretty much obliged to hold onto them for posterity. Which is exactly why Margherita Maccapani Missoni has amassed such an extensive wardrobe. That and the fact that she simply loves buying fashion (Missoni or otherwise) means she has a collection most girls would [insert morally questionable verb] for. In Australia for Derby Day as an exclusive guest at Caffe Lavazza, the third generation Missoni told us down the line from Melbourne all about spring cleaning her closet and why she loves a dress code.

What is your impression of Australia and Australian style?

"I think in general, not only in fashion, but in an approach to life, it is very relaxed in a good way, not careless. The worst thing for me is when people are overdressed and I don’t think that’s something that happens often here."

Aside from Missoni of course, what are you favourite fashion brands?

"I buy a lot of fashion and I wear many different brands. Even though I’m not so conceptual in my style, I probably buy the most from Junya Watanabe. It’s always so spot on and of-the-moment although it’s also so sophisticated and conceptual. I also love Marco de Vincenzo, Azzedine Alaia and Yohji Yamamoto."

Photo:vintage formal dresses

Do you share clothes within your family?

"Yes, we do. We used to do it more when we all lived together but now we all live in different places. We still all shop for each other. I definitely inherited a lot of from both my grandmothers and from my mother. I wear a lot of pieces that used to belong to other people. Actually today I’m wearing a skirt that was given to me by a friend of my mother."

What is the most treasured item in your wardrobe?

"One of the things I’m most attached to is a Burberry trench coat with leather selves and belt in the same tone as the bodice. My grandma bought it for me and I have a real love for trench coats."

Have you archived any of your clothes?

"Yeah, I keep a lot of fashion that I don’t wear because I think it’s interesting or it will be interesting eventually for some reason. Then I use my personal archives a lot for research too."

How do you organise your wardrobe?

"This is a very tricky question because I still haven’t found an answer! It’s the story of my life; I spend my life reorganising my closet. My husband thinks I’m crazy and I change the rules every six months. I like to go through my wardrobe and eliminate. I’ll reorganise it by items, like knitwear, long sleeve, short sleeve, fabrics, not by colour. You know, my family are compulsive collectors and never eliminate and I’m not like that. Recently, I invited everyone from the nearby villages in the countryside to come and make offers on whatever they wanted for like five euros or 10 euros. Then I gave the rest to a charity that I work with."

Has your style changed since becoming a mother?

"I think it must a bit but not more than it would have changed anyway. It’s the same taste but slightly evolved. I’m a bit more into classic shapes and menswear items but those are things that I always liked."

Are you a heels or flats girl?

"I’m definitely a flats girl. That’s something that maybe I was before but even more so since motherhood."

Do you have any tips for wearing colour and pattern, both being such strong Missoni signatures?

"First and foremost it’s a question of feeling at ease with everything and if you feel ease in it, it will look good. The best advice is to start with small pieces and let it grow little by little."

How do you adapt your style to events, such as the races, where there might be a certain dress code?

"I love dressing for different occasions and having dress codes. For me, it’s such a fun thing to have a reason to think about dressing within restraints or codes or rules so it’s something I have fun with. I love headpieces, hats, hair accessories, so that’s usually a big part of the races dress code."

More info:http://www.graziadressau.com/school-formal-dresses-au

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