Venetian apparel and lighting fixtures brand Fortuny has signed a licensing and international distribution deal with Italian producer Mavive for a new line of fragrances inspired by the artistic eclecticism of Mariano Fortuny. The licence will be handled by the high-end division of Mavive, founded in 1986 by Massimo Vidal, via the Merchant of Venice brand.

The new Fortuny fragrance collection will consist of three items and will be presented by the end of 2025. The line will be distributed via selected perfumeries and international department stores, and is the result of a synergy between two top-notch Venetian producers.

The Fortuny brand was created in 1984 by Lino Lando, a businessman with a passion for the style of Venetian painter, stylist and set designer Mariano Fortuny, and is also inspired by Fortuny’s youth, notably his stunning museum house, still home to sumptuous furnishings and works of art. Mavive was founded in 1986 by Massimo Vidal, as an extension of family perfumery company Vidal Profumi. It is now led by the family’s third and fourth generations, having started in the personal care sector as far back as in 1900. Mavive manages a portfolio including mass-market, prestige and niche perfumery brands, and is active in over 90 countries worldwide.

Fine fabrics, high-quality craftsmanship and attention to detail are the hallmarks of the products sold in the Fortuny boutiques, ranging from lighting fixtures to clothes. They include silk lampshades, hand-printed velvet overcoats, pleated scarves and the iconic Delphos dress, which in its many versions, always in pleated fabric, has been praised by Marcel Proust and worn by style icons like Isadora Duncan, Eleonora Duse, Lili Guerlain and Peggy Guggenheim. 
 
“At a time when women were looking for new experiences and dreamt of freedom, Mariano Fortuny and his wife Henriette Negrin created Delphos in 1907. A simple, sensual dress fashioned around the female body, heedless of fashion trends and unwilling to change to adapt to external pressure,” said Fortuny in a press release. “When it was sewn and worn for the first time it was absolutely revolutionary. Women still used to wear stiff corseted dresses that were mostly uncomfortable, and not always able to enhance the wearer’s body. Mariano Fortuny freed women from some of the constraints they were subjected to dress-wise, while making them more sensual and elegant,” added Fortuny.
 
The dress’s pared-down shape was inspired by the Charioteer of Delphi, a Greek statue from around 475 BC. It consists of four to five satin or silk taffeta panels featuring an extremely fine, handmade pleating, still produced in Venice’s artisanal workshops. 
 
The Delphos dress will be the starting point for the development of the first collection of fragrances designed by the Merchant of Venice’s team of perfumers who, working with set designer Pier Luigi Pizzi, will create a bottle inspired by the dress’ shape.
 
The Merchant of Venice is an artistic perfumery brand inspired by Venice’s ancient fragrance expertise. The brand is currently distributed in over 50 countries worldwide, via corners and shop-in-shops in Italian and international department stores, the brand’s flagship stores in Venice, Verona and Milan, and in select independent perfumeries.
 
The Fortuny brand’s business ranges from the production of exclusive lampshades to the creation of handmade clothes and accessories. Its silk lampshades are still made and decorated using the same methods adopted by Mariano Fortuny. The Studio 1907 collection is inspired by an original project by Mariano Fortuny: The floor lamp, resting on a tripod designed by the artist in 1907, is still considered iconic, and has an adjustably body providing indirect and diffused lighting. Fortuny operates stores in Venice, Paris and Munich.