Fortuny

Care & Pricing

Washing Fortuny Fabric:
Fortuny's cotton fabric care label says to vacuum frequently and Dry Clean Only.

But in my experience you can gently launder the cotton fabrics. This is often necessary to cleanse the vintage
cotton fabric from decades of soil.  I stress cotton fabrics only!

Metallic Pigment Overlay: Those cotton patterns with metallic pigments should be gently soaked flat in cold
water only, no detergent what so ever.  Dry Flat do not twist or wring out the fabric.

Non Metallic Overlay: Those cotton patterns with out metallic overlay, i.e. parchment, ivory and antique white can
be soaked in cold water with mild detergent like Oxi Clean or Ivory Snow. I have cleaned many piece of Fortuny
cotton over the years and have not experienced any loss of dye as long as the water is very cold. Since Fortuny's
fabrics have been in production for one hundred years there is the possibility that you could run into a bad dye lot
that did not set as well as others. Always test a small piece before you proceed. To maintain the original stiffness
line dry out of the sun. To soften toss in the dryer with on un-heated setting.

Dry Clean Only?: If you are fortunate enough to own a piece of Fortuny cotton, congratulations! It's your's so
you can Dry clean the textile if you wish, but be forewarned, the chemicals used in the dry cleaning process are
harmful to all textiles and even more so vintage textiles.  They will react with metallic pigment and degrade the dyes
integrity over time. Again it's yours so do what you want, but I would never dry clean any vintage or antique textile.
About Dry Cleaning:The process typically uses either a petroleum-based solvent or perchloroethylene (perc), a
synthetic solvent. The dry-cleaning solvents remove oily stains without shrinking most fabrics. Over time, though,
perc’s aggressive cleaning power can weaken or dissolve fabric glues and finishes stripping them dull. (Keep in
mind Fortuny's fabrics are the way they are do to a type of glue base that allows the metallic finish to be where it is
on the fabric.) Soap goes in-between fibers, the dry cleaning solvents attach to the fibers breaking them down over
time because they stay on the fabrics. :

Exposure to sun: In my experience the sun has proven to be the most damaging to Fortuny cotton fabric

 The Price of Fortuny
Controversial  and much debated is the price of Fortuny, which ranges far & wide.

New Fortuny available to the trade costs $295.00 to $310 per yard net / wholesale, plus shipping. Some discontinued colors and patterns are priced at $170.00 and up.  Those who have the ability to purchase Fortuny directly usually charge a fee of some sort. This is how the price gets distorted, some charge double the wholesale cost, thus the "retail cost of $600.00" shown in some places.  Some, like me charge a flat 30% on a cost plus basis to existing clients for new Fortuny fabric, 40% to new customers.

Vintage Fortuny: The cost of cotton ranges from a few dollars to thousands per yard. The value is set by the condition, quality (desirable pattern and or color way), quantity and rarity. Since there are reputed to be over 800 original designs produced over 100 years there are many rare textiles out there. Some commissioned during Fortuny's life which he personally designed & produced, many commissioned pieces were produced only once. Many had no known names but were later named after people and places and events throughout history.  When possible that information is provided in the Fortuny directory.  Textiles produced by Mariano Fortuny himself garner the biggest dollar amount, but he didn't always sign each piece. Once in production many pieces were signature stamped and later date stamped, this make it easy to identify and may is some cases increases the value, since there is no doubt about it's authenticity.  When it comes down to it, the value is in the eye of the beholder, a
rare pomegranate pattern in a rare color way many fetch thousands, and unknown but unmistakable pattern will as well. When a pattern is no longer in production it 's value increases. Those still in production usually sell at or near their net pricing.