#2664 $7,950 Sold
Fortuny Delphos tea gown with original box, 1930s
Lady Bonham-Carter: Everyone went to Fortuny then. I think everyone I knew had a Fortuny dress.
Mariano Fortuny created his signature Delphos gown in 1907, repeating the design with subtle changes until his death in 1949. The sleeveless version appeared in the 1920s. The gown is based on the pleated linen chitons worn by Greek women 2,500 years ago and seen today on Delphic Greek sculpture. The Fortuny Delphos gown has preserved the poetry of line of the Greek robe.
Fortuny used a thin silk satin more finely pleated than anything ever seen in costume. His famous hand-pleating method made the Delphos gown the pre-eminent status symbol for top socialites. Because the seams are so tightly pleated, they are hardly noticed; yet they still produce the desired visual effect (the seductive sea nymph).
The garment is incredibly soft and liquid, molding to the curves of the body, like the draped dress of the ancient Athenians. Fortuny's contemporaries described him as "an alchemist": he achieved magical effects by arcane techniques unfathomable to outsiders.
The gown is weighted around the armholes and on the sides with strings of frosted Murano glass beads in order to weigh down the lightweight silk. To keep the pleats in place, the dress should be stored twisted like a skein of yarn.
The neckline pleating is adjustable with drawstring ties. The delicate sea foam hue is subtly shaded, a sure sign of an original Fortuny piece. The matching twisted silk belt is stenciled with silver ginkgo leaves. The gown and belt are both marked Fortuny.
Fortuny's clothing has been treasured by the cultured elite from the early 1920s, when he stood aloof from fashion; consequently, he has never gone out of fashion. His designs have endured as timeless works of art that transcend the rigid dictates of fashion. A Fortuny design, an unconditional statement of beauty, nevertheless adapts itself to the wearer and to the occasion.
The novelist Marcel Proust described Fortuny as "faithfully antique but powerfully original." In the section of Remembrance of Things Past titled The Captive, the personage Fortuny constitutes an entire leitmotiv. In all of Proust's work, Fortuny is the only character who retains a real-life identity, a testimony to his cultural importance.
Describing the great aristocrat, the Duchess de Guermantes, Proust wrote:
Of all the indoor and outdoor gowns that Mme. de Guermantes wore, those which seemed most to respond to a definite intention, to be endowed with a special significance, were the garments made by Fortuny...Is it their historical character or the fact that each one is unique that gives them so special a significance that the pose of the woman wearing one while she waits for you to appear assumes an exceptional importance?
Actresses and top models like Julie Christie, Lauren Hutton, Geraldine Chaplin, and Tina Chow have been devoted to the work of Mariano Fortuny. The original Fortuny Delphos gown is rarely found outside of major collections. Not only is the Delphos an extraordinarily beautiful collectible of proven value, it also represents the ultimate in high style glamour for the woman who has the figure and status to wear one.
Although known today primarily as a clothing and textile designer, Fortuny was also a painter, etcher, sculptor, photographer, lighting engineer, set designer, theatre director, inventor, and architect. In the field of design, he personified the Renaissance man who could do it all. As a young man, he stated, "Art is my life's aim." His work is a living testament to that ideal.
Our Delphos comes with the original box from Fortuny's New York representative, Countess Elsie McNeill. Nevertheless, I suggest storing the gown in an acid-free box or in a cotton cloth to preserve the silk.
The condition is almost excellent. The pleats are still tight. Hidden in them are a few tiny stains. Also, on the end of the belt, there is slight fraying hidden underneath. Since these minor flaws barely show when the gown is worn, I do not consider them a problem.
The tea gown stretches to fit a range of figures. It was photographed on a mannequin that measures 36" bust, 25" waist and 36" hip. The gown is approximately 60" long from the shoulder to the uneven hem. The belt measurement can be adjusted by moving the hooks.
