Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Spanish fashion designer Mariano Fortuny was a true artist who worked with beautiful fabrics as his medium of choice. Although he showed talent in painting, sculpting, photography and architecture at an early age, fashion was where he really shined.
Fortuny was an innovator in the world of textile design, he drew on classical Greek tunics for his rich and interesting garments and worked with a revolutionary system for creating pleats (he was indeed proficient with product design, too, and developed lighting systems for theatre performances). He designed a range of clothing for his couture house, and today, vintage Fortuny evening gowns, gemstone-colored day dresses, coats and accessories like drawstring bags are known for their fine craftsmanship and signature elegance.
Fortuny was born Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo in 1871 in Granada, into a family of artists. His father died when Fortuny was only three years old, and his mother moved the family to Paris. As a child, Fortuny was fond of experimenting and figuring out how things worked. He even dyed pieces of fabric from his family's textile collection, which had been amassed from shops around Europe.
In 1889, the family moved again, this time to Venice. Here, Fortuny found inspiration in the past, which would influence his future designs. Not long after, the young Fortuny set off to travel the continent. In 1897, he visited Paris and fell in love with a dressmaker named Henriette Negrin. She became his muse, his wife and his creative partner — Negrin worked with Fortuny on clothing designs and fabrics — and the two settled in the French capital.
A lifelong inventor, Fortuny began patenting his creations in 1901. By 1934, he had registered more than 20 patents. At the same time, his fashion career was taking off. In 1907, he designed the Delphos gown with Negrin, which French novelist and essayist Marcel Proust described as "faithfully antique but markedly original." Fortuny had worked from his home until 1922 when increased demand required large-scale production. He opened a factory in Venice, where due to the scarcity of silk, he began experimenting with cotton.
In 1927, New York interior designer Elsie McNeill traveled to Paris to meet Fortuny and became his exclusive American distributor. She returned to the United States and introduced Fortuny's designs to New World audiences. Shops opened in Paris, New York and London. Toward the end of the 1930s, Fortuny returned to painting and stepped away from the busy fashion industry.
After Fortuny passed away in 1949, McNeill took over the label and continued running it until 1988, when it was purchased by the Riad family, who remain at the helm of Fortuny today.
Find vintage Mariano Fortuny clothing and textiles on 1stDibs.
Mid-20th Century American Hollywood Regency Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Textile, Silk
2010s American Louis XV Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Linen, Silk
2010s American Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric, Down, Feathers
20th Century Italian Mid-Century Modern Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Velvet
2010s American Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric, Silk, Down, Feathers
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen, Down
21st Century and Contemporary Renaissance Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Silk
2010s American Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric, Silk, Down, Feathers
20th Century Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen
20th Century Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Velvet
1960s Italian Chinoiserie Vintage Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen
20th Century Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen, Down
20th Century Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Linen
21st Century and Contemporary Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Feathers
20th Century Italian Chinoiserie Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton
20th Century Italian Vienna Secession Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric
Mid-20th Century Spanish Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton
Early 20th Century Italian Renaissance Revival Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Silk
Early 20th Century Italian Renaissance Revival Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Rococo Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Velvet
Mid-20th Century Italian Baroque Revival Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Down, Feathers, Fabric
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Mid-Century Modern Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Silk
Mid-20th Century Italian Renaissance Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Cotton, Silk, Down, Feathers
Early 20th Century Italian Baroque Mariano Fortuny More Furniture and Collectibles
Textile