Coloring skies and casting shadows with its ethereal nature, light permeates our lives, our existence revolving around this visual energy that reaches deep within us.

As we descend deeper into winter, the waters rise, the mercury drops, and the fog veils our surroundings. Yet every day, the light defiantly stretches a little further into the darkness, a gentle reminder that the waters will soon recede, the fog will eventually lift, and the mercury shall once again defy gravity.

For all the chemistry that Mariano Fortuny studied, no scientific formula could have prepared him for the reaction sparked by the encounter he had with Henriette Nigrin in 1902.

Among the most profound influences on our perception of the passage of time is our surroundings. Despite the common threads of island geography and multicultural heritage that Venice and New York share, time appears to unfold with markedly different rhythms in each place.

As the earth tilts to align the sun directly above the equator, daylight and darkness fall into a precise equilibrium.

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.

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.

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.

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.