MOODBOARD: TINA CHOW x FORTUNY
The late jewelry designer and couture collector amassed a museum-worthy stash of the designer's signature pleated gowns.
Oh, Tina. Anyone who’s spent enough time with me knows that my admiration for Bettina ‘Tina’ Louise Chow née Lutz runs deep. A brilliant designer and revered collector of haute couture, Chow was a star of the international jet set throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s, first coming to prominence by holding court in then-husband Michael Chow’s namesake restaurants. Her divorce marked a rebirth as a remarkable artist and activist. Tina died of AIDS-related illness in 1992 at the age of 41, her name shamefully falling out of the public consciousness in the years since.
There are so many facets of her life and career I wish to explore and there will unquestionably be future newsletters dedicated to exactly that. But for today, I’m exploring one of the more prominent: Tina’s love for the work of Mariano Fortuny.
Fortuny was something of a Renaissance man, an inventor as much as a designer and artist, who developed (among numerous other things, including the dimmer switch) a system for pressing delicate silks with exceptionally fine, water-like pleats. Reports vary on the exact number, but it’s fair to say Tina likely had at least two dozen or so examples of Fotuny’s work in her personal collection at one point. And because this new image-based franchise is entitled “MOODBOARD”, here are some of my favorite depictions of Tina and Fortuny’s rare creations:
i've been attempting to go on a tina chow deepdive and would love to know more about her but the internet's not been super helpful - any books or resources to recommend?
Oh my gawd, those gowns are gorgeous. I’ve never heard of Tina Chow, thank you!💕