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Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, designer

Tunic and dress, 1926

Description

Maker

  • Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, 1871-1949, Spanish, designer

Culture

Italian

Title

Tunic and dress

Year

1926

Medium

Silk, metal thread, glass beads; hand-block printed

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • silk,
  • glass beads

Techniques

  • plain weave,
  • block printed,
  • block-printed

Dimensions

99.1 x 114.3 cm (39 x 45 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Fortuny

Type

  • Fashion,
  • Costume

Credit

Gift of the Estate of Mrs. Edith Stuyvesant Vanderbilt Gerry

Object Number

59.031.7

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Golden Glamour

March 13 - July 5, 2015

Venetian-based Spanish designer Mariano Fortuny hid red silk threads along the reverse of this lamé underdress, achieving a burnished gold tint that suggests a cloth from antiquity. Fortuny intentionally “aged” many of his textiles, in keeping with his aesthetic and his reverence for historical motifs. Small Venetian glass beads along the hem of the gauze overdress are not only eye catching, but their weight holds the fabric taut, highlighting the hand-printed design.

Fortuny’s loose-fitting sleeveless silhouette follows that of the aba, a traditional garment in the Middle East. In the 1920s and ’30s, Fortuny’s gowns were especially popular among avant-garde women seeking freedom of movement and a hint of exoticism.

Related

Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, designer

Jacket, 1926

Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, designer

Underdress, 1926

More objects +

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Tunic and dress with the accession number of 59.031.7. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

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