Mariano Fortuny at the Galliera Museum
Categories : Exhibitions and Museums, published on : 11/10/17
Learn about the life and works of couturier Mariano Fortuny, "a Spaniard in Venice" through an inspiring exhibition at the Galliera Museum until January 4, 2018. Don't pass up the chance to discover this revolutionary fashion designer during your stay at the Chess Hotel close to the Opera Garnier.
A Spaniard in Venice
Born in Granada in 1871, Mariano Fortuny moved to Venice in 1888. It was there that he became interested in printmaking, photography, design, and fashion and he established his ground-breaking textile company in 1899. His passion for the past inspired the lines and pleats of his garments as well as his fabrics and prints. The play of light enchanted him, and he created fluid clothing that freed the body from the constraining garments of the time. The 1906 "Knossos" shawl in silk voile was a big success and featured motifs inspired by Cretan ceramics. The Fortuny style was launched: soft fabrics, straight lines, unhindered movement and mobility, the play of light and the movement of patterns, and subtle colours that recalled the east from Byzantium to Japan.
See it at the Palais Galliera
The Fashion Museum, also called Palais Galliera, takes its name from the Duchess who had it built and who then donated it to the City of Paris. And, it's here that we can discover the work of this passionate designer. Fortuny's clothes were worn by the most modern women of the time; his Delphos dress was considered revolutionary with its enhanced size and liberating pleats. Mariano Fortuny was also an inventor (he filed numerous patents, particularly in lighting), a scenographer, and a great lover of opera, painting and theatre. As colourful as his shawls, dresses and coats, and a designer who was both generous and innovative.
