c. 1930s Fortuny Dresses by famous designer in THREE colors!

The off-white Fortuny dresses were donated in 1968 by Mrs. Landes Gores Graves. They were originally owned by close family friend Harriet “Hallie“ Hyde Sheppard (1881-1967), who lived in Norwalk, CT. During WWI she worked for the American Red Cross and the National Catholic Welfare Council, before going on to hold several administrative and executive roles at a number of firms over the duration of her life.

The red and blue Fortuny gowns were donated to our museum in 1975 by Mrs. Frances Neave (nee Parker) of Parade Hill. Frances and her husband Alexander Caldwell Neave resided in New Canaan for over fifty years. Alexander worked as an attorney for Fish Richardson & Neave. The couple had a son in 1938 named Alexander Caldwell, who later married Lynne Williams.

Mariano Fortuny (1871-1949) was a Spanish fashion designer born in Granada, Spain. Fortuny resided in Venice with his fashion house which was founded in 1906. Fortuny was inspired by ancient Venice, Greece, Egypt, Florence, Asia, South America, and the far East. He would take historic source material into modern expression for the time he was creating. Fortuny created his own formulas of dyes and pigments based on ancient techniques of the masters, to give a quality of authentic antiquity. The material is incredibly durable and has an otherworldly essence with his use of jewel tones. Because his pieces were so mystifying there were rumors of sorcery and magic and Fortuny himself was coined the “magician of Venice”. The silk gowns were originally designed to be worn as tea gowns and intended to be worn at home for informal entertaining. The gowns eventually became popular as sensual evening wear outside the home, known for their handcrafted and luxurious quality.

The original video was created January 1, 2023. The dresses are part of the permanent collection at the New Canaan Museum & Historical Society in Connecticut. They will go on display as part of the exhibit opening May 18, 2023.

[vbrown]

I have heard of them and seen pictures. I hope you upload some video of the pleats up close, because they are really cool looking. I hadn't realized that the method for creating the pleats was never revealed. How amazing that you have so many in your collection.

[hellndamnation]

How wonderful to be able to handle 4 of these dresses. You have a brilliant job.

[suzannederringer]

I know his work, but these are remarkably well preserved. Gorgeous colors!

[susancutler]

May I recommend a book Peacock & Vine by A S Byatt on William Morris and Mariano Fortuny. Lots of detail on the lives and inspirations of these designers.

[suziecreamcheese]

I didn’t know there was museum like this in ct.

[christinehess]

There's an episode of Antiques roadshow with a black one.

[dominiquesmith]

It's a shame they don't use live models. Some of these garments look like they would move beautifully

[darlenehollinger]

I have heard of them but never had the good fortune to see one other than in photos. They are beautiful!

[lindalou]

Fortuny!! Wow! They are absolutely amazing pieces of art. How lucky you are to have them.

[gracec]

Beautiful! Thank you for providing more details of the dresses in your video.

[aliveandwell]

Am curious of the 2 peice dress, if the top part is on a bias as the longer part is on sides and front. Saw on a vid on Jennifer Schottstaedt YT she hand sewed the pleats into silk fabric !!. A YT vid had a pic of a book with ?pleated fabric and rollers or ...???