Spanish fashion in the age of Velázquez: a tailor at the court of Philip IV (seminar and book launch)
Amanda Wunder discusses the life and world of Spanish royal tailor Mateo Aguado and his colleagues during the reign of Philip IV, and exploring the distinctive look of the court in seventeenth-century Madrid. From book to textile to fine art. Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase the book with a 30% discount on site or via a voucher code.
College of Arts School of Modern Languages and Cultures Stirling Maxwell Centre
Date: Thursday 20 March 2025
Time: 17:00 - 18:00
Venue: TalkLab (University of Glasgow Library, level 3) + Zoom (see below)
Category: Public lectures
Speaker: Amanda Wunder, City University of New York
Document: Spanish fashion poster
Amanda Wunder's Spanish Fashion in the Age of Velázquez is the first archival study of dress at the court of Philip IV, as told through the life and work of royal tailor Mateo Aguado. Tailor to the queens of Spain from 1630 to 1672, Aguado designed the striking dresses that gave the Spanish court its distinctive look in the Baroque era. The most influential dress designer in the seventeenth-century Spanish world, Aguado was responsible for creating the iconic dresses that appear in some of Diego Velázquez’s most famous court portraits.
Based on new research, this book brings to life the world of Aguado and his colleagues at court. The long-lost garments and accessories that the court artisans made for their royal employers are reconstructed here for the first time. Aguado’s creations played a crucial role in domestic and international politics by shaping the royal image, and his dresses took center-stage in major political events during Philip IV’s reign. Richly illustrated with well-known masterpieces along with surviving textiles and garments, the book explores how Aguado’s dress designs shaped a new vision of Spanish style, and Spanishness, that defined Golden-Age Spain.
[from publisher's website]
In-person: Library Seminar Room (Level 3, TalkLab), University of Glasgow Library
On-line: Zoom, register here.
Booklaunch (UK), with refreshments (courtesy of Yale University Press).
Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase the book form John Smith's Bookshop with a 30% discount on site or via a voucher code.
