FABRICATING THE WORLD | AN ALCHEMIST IN SILK: Mariano Fortuny (1871–1949), textile and fashion designer with Dr Susan Scollay

Mariano Fortuny was a multi-disciplinary artist best known as a designer of exquisite textiles and timeless fashion. Born in Spain, Fortuny lived briefly in Paris and opened an atelier in Venice in 1906. For more than forty years, he drew on his artistic training and family background in Granada to produce printed silks in exquisite colours embellished with metallic highlights.  

Fortuny’s interests in opera and the classical world informed his avante-garde designs for pleated garments reminiscent of ancient Greek drapery. A workshop in Venice still handcrafts his luxurious fabrics and his one-time home, the Palazzo Fortuny, is now a museum.  

DR SUSAN SCOLLAY is an independent art historian specialising in Islamic art and culture and in historic textiles. She is a contributing editor to HALI, the prestigious London-based journal of carpet, textile and Islamic art, is a fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain, and an honorary fellow in art history and curatorship at the University of Melbourne.

This lecture is presented on-site at The Johnston Collection. Please see your ticket for details. 

This lecture is supported by The Colin Holden Charitable Trust and The Friends of TJC 

Image: Lady Mary wears a pleated silk ‘Delphos’ gown inspired by ‘Fortuny’ design. Downton Abbey (2019)