MUNCIE, Ind. -- Two recent additions to Ball State University's Beeman Historical Costume Collection show that fine apparel can also be fine art.

Artist Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, generally called Fortuny, designed two jackets now housed in the collection maintained by the university's Department of Family and Consumer Sciences.

David Owsley donated the Fortuny jackets owned by his mother, Lucy Ball Owsley. One is light green with gold painting and the other is black with gold painting.

Wilma Ridgeway, assistant professor of family and consumer sciences, said the garments would be priceless treasures for any collection.

"They are certainly not anything we could ever afford to buy," Ridgeway said. "I couldn't believe we were getting them until I had them here in my hand."

Ridgeway said Fortuny, who designed between 1906 and 1949, created his own fabrics by treating fabric like a canvas.

"He built up layers of color, playing with the effects of light and transparency, printing and retouching to create textures and harmonies of color that are impossible to recreate," Ridgeway said.

The Fortuny jackets will never be worn in fashion shows, Ridgeway said, but will be used as design inspiration for students in Ball State apparel design program. They will be on display at the Muncie Altrusa Club's annual fashion show Sept. 24.

Fortuny was noted for his unusual textiles, Ridgeway said.

He perfected a method of pleating in fine silks fabrics and created the Delphos dress from this fabric. Garments of the ancient Greeks provided his inspiration. Venetian glass beads sewn into the side seam were more than decorative.

"They helped hold the dress in place," Ridgeway said. "The Fortuny gown was worn at home and as the houses were a little chilly, you always had a little velvet as a covering."

Fortuny also drew from the past to create the jackets of silk velvet. He reinterpreted Italian Renaissance and ancient Persian designs to create the jackets.

Instead of hanging the Delphos dress, Fortuny's pleated creations were twisted and folded in individual boxes to keep their pleats perfect. The pleats were removed by dry cleaning, so the garments were sent to Fortuny's studio for cleaning and re-pleating.

(NOTE TO EDITORS:For more information about this story or how to reach the source, contact Anthony Barker at 765-285-1560 or tbarker@bsu.edu.)