Missoni and Funboy just released a brand new pool float that we can guarantee will be all over your social media feeds this summer. Known for their vibrantly hued knitwear, the Italian fashion house teamed up with the California-based purveyor of the whimsical (and enormous) floaties favored by Taylor Swift and the likes on an oversized rainbow-inspired butterfly design.
Since the colorful creation is obviously Instagram gold, it is rather fitting that the designer collaboration came to be after a chance social media encounter. Funboy’s co-founder Blake Barrett casually slid into Angela Missoni’s DMs back in 2016 asking if her family-run brand would be interested in partnering on a float, and the rest is history.
“Our family has always been transfixed with Missoni’s use of color and geometric shapes and we knew it would translate into an incredible three dimensional pool float,” Barrett said in a statement. “We reached out over DM to Angela hoping she would share our vision.”
As it turns out, the mom-of-three was already a fan of the brand, which is best known if its swan-shaped float but also makes towels, hats and even rosé, and so began the 18-month design process. The reversible float features original hand-screened Missoni artwork in the brand’s signature kaleidoscope of colors: there is aquatic-themed blue-green gradient on one side and a sunny pink-orange one on the other.
With a spot to nestle right in the middle, the wings are engineered to gently rise out of the water when someone lays down, so you will basically look like you are flying across the water on a rainbow butterfly. Oh, and you can also feel good about your $148 social Instagram-friendly purchase — each float purchased provides one year of clean drinking water to a person in need.
