Mariano Fortuny, the son of a well-known Spanish painter, was a celebrated designer of the early 20th century. His studio and home was in the Palazzo Orfei in Venice, where he worked for most of his life. Although he created beautiful set designs (the Fortuny Dome is still used in theatres to simulate the sky), and also paintings and photos, he is most famous for his fabrics and fashions.
His finely pleated silk dresses, favored by the wealthy women of the Art Deco period, 
were a milestone in fashion design. They were incredibly soft, flowing garments, a major break from the stiff confining clothes of the Victorian era. Today they are collector's items which fetch incredible prices in the rare auction that has the luck to acquire one.
Fortuny also made rich fabrics using gold and silver threads, carefully following techniques from the Renaissance he re-introduced in his workshop. His customers, which included actresses and dancers and rich American heiresses, could drape themselves in these lovely creations and feel like Renaissance princesses--without the discomfort of the heavy dresses of that age.
Another of his creations that is still popular today is the Fortuny lamp. It's soft glow and luminous beauty is reminiscent of an earlier age.
Today Fortuny's studio and home, still with many of the original furnishings, is preserved by the city of Venice 
as a museum for his fabrics, dresses, set designs, paintings and photographs. It's a place where fashion designers still come to pay homage and to find inspiration.
We'll visit the museum on the Living La Dolce Vita tours in May 2009, and also stop by the shop where you can see Fortuny lamps and the pleated fabrics that made fashion history. I love the lamps and wish I had the kind of home where a couple of the hanging beauties would look just right. Or for that matter, a life where I could wear a fabulous vintage gown!
