Cape

Mariano Fortuny|Fortuny

ca. 1930 · silk, metallic pigment · Costume Institute

Spanish-born artist and designer Mariano Fortuny was active in Italy, where he established a textile workshop and a commercial silk printing factory--a version of which still operates today. Best known for his beautiful textiles and unstructured garments, Fortuny continually referenced historical and non-Western sources, reviving and creating complex fabric treatments and dyeing techniques. Fortuny's burnoose was based on the traditional Arab garment; its loose shape and exotic roots well-suited to Fortuny's unique dress designs and avant garde clientele. Teal velvet, an unusual color for this popular style, is heavily stencilled with gold stripes and the scroll and foliate forms on the tan velvet suggest Persian influences.

Artist

Mariano Fortuny|Fortuny

Date

ca. 1930

Medium

silk, metallic pigment

Culture

Italian

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Richard Palmer, 1984