Introducing Natalie Dupuis’ Barcelona Retreat Design
This April, during our Barcelona Retreat 2026, students will have the rare chance to stitch a design born from one of the most extraordinary garments in the Terrassa Textile Museum: an opulently embroidered 18th-century casaca masculina (dress coat).
Natalie Dupuis’ new project, created exclusively for this retreat, reimagines a jewel-like motif taken directly from the small pocket of this remarkable coat, a tiny detail from a garment overflowing with artistry and craftsmanship.
A Coat Designed to Dazzle
The original casaca, dated to the 18th century, is a masterpiece of male formal dress. It is richly embroidered in coloured silks and shimmering metal threads, and decorated with spangles, stones, and intricate embellishments that speak to the luxury of its era.
Its floral sprays, scrolling foliage and glittering accents would have caught the candlelight at every movement. Even among the many garments in the museum's collection, this coat is considered particularly lavish.
From the pocket, just a few inches across, comes the motif that Natalie has transformed into a contemporary stitched treasure, designed to be finished as a small purse or pouch. It is a perfect example of how historic details can inspire fresh, personal, and wearable embroidery today.
The Moragas Pomar Collection: A Legacy of Art and Textile Passion
The coat forms part of the prestigious Moragas Pomar Collection, donated to the Terrassa Textile Museum in 1964.
Josep Moragas Pomar (1873–1945) grew up surrounded by art. His father, painter Tomàs Moragas Torras, trained in Barcelona’s vibrant artistic circles and later worked in Italy alongside his close friend Marià Fortuny i Marsal, a connection that proved deeply influential. The Fortuny family themselves were passionate collectors of textiles, and this shared artistic environment ignited Josep’s own lifelong appreciation for historic fabrics and dress.
Travelling widely across Spain, Moragas sought out artistic treasures, particularly those relating to historic clothing, accessories, embroidery, and textiles. After a period living in Paris, he established an antiques shop in Barcelona, although many pieces he acquired never made it to sale. His personal collection soon gained international recognition.
After his death, the collection was partially exhibited in Barcelona and Madrid before being offered for sale. The only group sold as a single lot was the clothing and embroidery, 78 pieces in total, which was acquired by the city of Terrassa in 1962. It became the first major addition of historic dress to the museum’s collection.
Intriguingly, museum catalogues note that the embroidered silk coat used by Natalie as her inspiration once belonged to a member of the Fortuny family, perhaps father or son. Given the close ties between the Moragas and Fortuny households, such an exchange of textiles is entirely plausible.
Today, thanks to this rich lineage of artistic passion and collecting, the coat is preserved at the Terrassa Textile Museum, where its details continue to inspire new generations of designers and embroiderers.
Honouring the Past Through Needlework
In her Barcelona Retreat class, Natalie invites students to engage directly with this history, stitching a motif that has travelled from an 18th-century gentleman’s formal coat, through a renowned collector’s hands, and now into the embroidery frames of modern makers.
We look forward to welcoming you to Barcelona for this special class, and to see how each stitcher interprets this exquisite pocket-sized piece of textile history.
