By the time Augustus became the adopted son and heir of his great-uncle, Julias Caesar, in 46 BC, the Roman empire was in a state of decline and turmoil.

With the arrival of June, the northern hemisphere finds itself at the zenith of sunlight, the days beginning to define themselves with radiant warmth and luminosity.

From our education to our moods to our health and wellbeing, we are each shaped by our environments.

In a signed handwritten note filed with the patent for the machine used to create the iconic pleats for the Delphos dress, Mariano Fortuny credits his collaborator and wife as the inventor.

With profound gratitude and excitement, we are lighting candles for an extraordinary celebration: a century since the first Fortuny fabric was created in our factory on the island of Giudecca.

Even absent the daily rhythm of our artisans and craft in the stillness of gears and of the factory at rest a presence is felt.

The new Giudecca showroom was inspired by Mariano Fortuny's vision of the theater. A former convent converted into a textile factory almost a century ago.

Se cuenta que al día siguiente de morir Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, las aguas del Gran Canal amanecieron teñidas de fabulosos colores.

Elsie McNeill Lee, The Countess Gozzi, was a media darling. Publications around the globe loved to report on her winning smile and fabulous wit.

In 1576, Venetian Doge Alvise Mocenigo turned to the heavens to plead for an end to the plague that ravaged the city for over a year. 

Unchanging friendships are the best, unaffected by distance or time, with comfort that sets in instantly despite personal changes or time apart.

I first met Mariano in the spring of 2000. I’d known of him for years, told his story numerous times, worked on the machines he invented.

Join storied Interior Designer Nina Campbell, Fortuny scholar Wendy Ligon Smith, and Fortuny Creative Director Mickey Riad.

Humanity is at Fortuny’s core: we were a man before we were a brand. One thing that humans have proven again and again is our resilience and determination.

For the last year, brands big and small have danced a delicate dance addressing the enormity of the global pandemic. 

“This patent is the property of Madame Henriette Brassart, who is the inventor.” This is a note in the margins of Mariano Fortuny’s pleating machine patent. 

Unlike any other place on the planet, it is the unique connection between Venice and the sea that both defines the city and threatens it. 

Since its inception, the force that has driven Fortuny is a pursuit of beauty. Mariano Fortuny’s life was an education in the human hand and mind’s creative output.

When one space is delineated, two are created. Outside wouldn’t be outside if there were no inside to define it. Drawing lines gives structure and creates thresholds.

C’est sur l’île de la Giudecca que se tient la fabrique des tissus vénitiens Fortuny, mondialement connue pour ses fameux plissés de soie.