Mariano Fortuny: 6 works

'The ancient Greek-style, pleated 'Delphos' dress is famous as being one of Fortuny's most successful designs.'

'From the 1890s onwards, Fortuny alluded to medieval, renaissance, Japanese and oriental themes, using paper stencils to dye the fabric to produce coats and caftans. In this work he has used this kind of textile, combining it with wide, kimono-style sleeves and side vents to create a 'T'-shaped coat.'

'He fashioned lengths of this fabric into one of the most revolutionary garments of the twentieth century--the Delphos gown.'

'That same year, Fortuny patented this model, although it was presented at the gala of the Condesa de Verán and, later on, officially in Berlin where the dancer, Ruth St. Denis, came out to dance wrapped in a Knossos.'

'It is known that Marcel Proust repeatedly gives homages to Fortuny's dress in his novel "A la recherche du temps perdu." Fortuny also adopted non-western fashion as a design source, and designed coats with a resemblance to kimonos having large sleeves with straight cuttings, and textiles with stencil printings of arabesque patterns.'

'Textile design by Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, inspired by the primitive fabrics of South America, and the central Andes in particular.'