Tunic

Fortuny oversaw each stage of the production of his designs, beginning with material selection. He sourced fine, mainly undyed fabrics that would gracefully skim the body from Japan, China, and India, as well as from Europe. His ongoing experimentation with the dyeing, printing, and pleating of these raw materials resulted in textiles that were admired by his contemporaries for their “magical” quality–printed velvets with the gleam and texture of metallic brocades or shimmering pleated silks that suggested the luminous colors of a Giovanni Battista Tiepolo fresco. Those colors, which seemed to transform under changing light, were achieved using dyes that Fortuny likewise sourced internationally. When Fortuny’s textiles are layered, the impression of shifting brilliance and tone is enhanced, as the light passes through smooth planes and shadowed folds of the sheer gauze, revealing glimpses of the pleated silk beneath.