Museum 1920s Mariano Fortuny Delphos Amber Gold Pleated Silk Murano Gown

This is an exquisite and rare Mariano Fortuny Delphos gown from the 1920s, a true example of early 20th-century couture and textile artistry. The Delphos gown is widely regarded as one of the most iconic and revolutionary garments in fashion history. Designed by Mariano Fortuny in the early 20th century, it redefined the concept of women's dress through its radical simplicity, unparalleled craftsmanship, and timeless beauty. Its innovation lies in its unique, finely pleated silk—achieved through a secret technique Fortuny never fully revealed—and its Grecian-inspired silhouette, which clings and flows with the body, liberating women from the constraints of structured corsetry and tailoring. The Delphos is one of only two garments that were included in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, in 2003—an extraordinary recognition of its significance as both fashion and art. The Spanish painter Joaquín Sorolla immortalized the Delphos gown in several early 20th-century portraits of his wife and other sitters, many of which are held in the Museo Sorolla. The gown’s legacy continued well into the 20th century, worn by influential style icons like Peggy Guggenheim and Tina Chow, both of whom owned and wore identical versions in this same luminous golden tone.