In 1871, Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo was born in Granada, Spain. His early childhood was divided between Rome, where his father had a studio and Capricio near Naples. After his father's death in 1874, his family left for Paris to join their uncle. His father and grandfather were both celebrated artists. Mariano inherited artistic skills and also worked in printing, drawing and chemistry. His mother was a Spanish beauty whose wealth had endowed the famous Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain.

Mariano studied painting until the age of 18, and was then introduced to Parisian society. After a while, his mother moved the family to Venice. He bought a palazzo and turned it into an enormous studio. Mariano produced both easel paintings and frescoes, was a print-maker and sculptor. In 1897, he was awarded the gold medal at the Munich International Festival of Art for his painting The Flower Girls. He exhibited his paintings every year at the Venice Biennale until his death.

He was also a set designer, an inventor of reflected-lighting systems, a furniture make and a photographer. More than 10,000 negatives are stored in the Fortuny Museum in Venice. In 1906 Fortuny designed a theatre for Comtesse Bearn the Parisian music patron.

Fortuny fell in love with Henriette Negin, a model whom he met in 1895. His mother did not approve of her, but she lived with him for 47 happy years, eventually marrying him and was a widow for 15 years more.

Only at the age of 40, did Fortuny decide to throw himself into fashion design. He was never really a couturier, he did not present annual or even seasonal collections. He set out to find his own version of a timeless ideal form. The simplicity of his designs was astonishing for the period, they were cut out flat in one piece rather like a Japanese kimono.

1906 was also the year he introduced his first garment, a long sheer silk rectangle which he called the Knossos scarf based on the ancient Cretan civilisation. These scarves opened a new avenue for him.

In 1907 Fortuny produced the first DELPHOS gown. It was a column of pleated silk based on chitons worn by ancient Greek maidens in statues. Early Delphos gowns had bat-wing sleeves, later versions had a scarf attached to the shoulders, falling to the hips. The pleating of the material for these dresses was achieved by a process of evaporation, the wet and folded silk being laid on heated porcelain tubes, permanently fixing such tight pleats in the material that the dresses looked carved or pressed. The effect made a women look elongated when she wore them.

In 1909 Fortuny opened his own salon on rue Marignan selling not only his pleated silk and velvet gowns, but also cushion covers, wall hangings, lampshades, etc. In 1912, he showed his textiles in the Spanish pavilion at the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts in Paris.

FORTUNY'S CONTRIBUTION

Fortuny's important contribution to fashion was his method of pleating. Pleats were formed by hand and experts say the pleats were held in place with tacking stitches and then set with heat while the fabric was damp.

His pleated dresses were unique, he never made two the same. Almost all the museums of costume throughout the world have a Fortuny pleated gown as a precious exhibit.

In the twenties, Fortuny made sleeveless Delphos and Peplos gowns. He used ribbed gauze dyed in muted shades for long vests, jackets with side slits and long bat-wing tunics. He also used a thin supple velvet to make medieval tabard gowns, Persian style jackets, Moorish capes and Empire-waisted Directoire gowns.

In 1923 His garments were exhibited in galleries in London, and sold at the brick shop, London. In 1929 Elsie McNeill Lee (later Contessa Gozzi) opened a Fortuny store. Till recently, she sold his fabrics and dresses, and she alone mixed dyes and treats fabrics.

In 1933 after financial problems, Gozzi bought Fortuny's business and turned it around, making it an international success. His sales continued intermittently until 1938 when he was nearing 70. He tried to use mediocre Italian fabrics, but had to fall back on his stock of Japanese silks to maintain the quality he desired.

His salon had fewer and fewer clients, although he was still very much appreciated by those who knew his work. In 1949, Orson Welles used 3 of Fortuny's coats in his film "Othello".

In 1949 Mariano Fortuny died. One boutique remained open until the death of Henriette Fortuny in 1965.

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Fortuny: The Life and Work of Mariano Fortuny by Guillerno de Osma

Fortuny by Anne Marie Deschodt

General Amazon page for Mariano Fortuny Books
45 different editions

AW 2002