Fashion designer Brigitte Huber-Mader discovered as a teenager that she was related to one of Austria's most famous artists, Gustav Klimt. The renowned painter, known for his golden period and iconic works like 'The Kiss,' is her great-grandfather. This revelation would later influence her creative journey and connect her to Vienna's rich artistic heritage in unexpected ways.
Huber-Mader, who works as both a fashion designer and costume designer, has a natural talent for storytelling that she typically translates into textiles. When the Christmas market at the famous Klimt Villa in Vienna's Hietzing district opens this coming Sunday, she will be leading tours through the historic house, sharing stories about the life and work of the man who once added a surprising chapter to her own biography.
One particularly remarkable anecdote illustrates how art and family connections can intertwine in mysterious ways. In the late 1990s, a young woman came to Huber-Mader's studio seeking a custom-made wedding coat. 'There was immediately a very special connection, we chatted non-stop,' Huber-Mader recalls. She even accompanied the bride to her wedding to help adjust the finished coat, but as often happens, they lost touch afterward.
Years later, the two women met again at a memorial event for Gustav Klimt. It turned out that both were related to the painter – the young woman was his great-niece, while Huber-Mader was his great-granddaughter. The coincidental meeting revealed how Klimt's artistic legacy had unconsciously drawn his descendants together.
Huber-Mader was in her early teens when she learned who her grandfather's father really was. While art played a major role in her upbringing – 'My childhood didn't take place on playgrounds, we were constantly in museums, at flea markets, at the Dorotheum auction house' – the famous family connection remained taboo for a long time. 'It was too shameful for my grandfather to be an illegitimate child,' she explains, 'and even the name Gustav Klimt couldn't change that.'
The relationship between Klimt and her family began around 1911, when the painter met Consuela Camilla Huber at his house on Feldmühlgasse in Vienna. Initially a housemaid and later presumably a model, she bore him three children – a daughter who died young and two sons. They are among Klimt's officially documented six children from various relationships.
It took several years after her family revealed the connection for Huber-Mader to truly understand who Gustav Klimt was and his significance in art history. This understanding perhaps also explained why creativity had always been such a strong impulse within her. 'That always wanted to come out of me,' she says.
Huber-Mader attended fashion school in Mödling and quickly stood out for her artistic talent. She still remembers her drawing teacher's words when she called her mother to convince her to enroll her daughter in painting studies: 'Brigitte must go to the Applied Arts University.' However, she had different plans, feeling the shadow of her great-grandfather's legacy too intimidating. 'I had the feeling I could only fail there. With fashion, I had my own thing.'
She began designing costumes for various theater productions and creating a custom fashion line. Despite choosing her own path, she would still love the chance to travel back in time and exchange ideas with Gustav Klimt. 'I think he would have liked and supported what I do. He was someone who always wanted to experiment, who also designed fabrics and clothing pieces for Emilie Flöge.'
Since she cannot travel to the past, Huber-Mader brings the past to her work instead. She incorporates color palettes, ornaments, and forms borrowed from Klimt's works into her elaborate designs. For the Klimt Villa shop, she sews modernized replicas of reform dresses and Emilie Flöge's bathing dress. A few years ago, she designed costumes for the Life Ball with the theme 'Death and Life.' A fashion show is also planned for next year at the villa, featuring a collection about alpine clothing traditions while incorporating Klimt influences.
After a shoulder injury, sewing has taken a backseat for Huber-Mader. Instead, she is focusing entirely on learning. Since fall, she has been studying art history at the University of Vienna. 'I thought, if not now at 50-plus, then I'll never do it,' she says. She is particularly excited about when Klimt comes up in the curriculum, hoping she might learn something new about him.
One story about the painter that never fails to make his great-granddaughter smile involves Klimt's well-known love of cats. The felines would occasionally relieve themselves on his drawings that were scattered around the studio. When a fellow artist once visited and said, 'You can't do that,' Klimt reportedly replied, 'Why not? At least they're immediately fixed that way.' 'I find that so wonderfully matter-of-fact,' Huber-Mader laughs.
As part of the Christmas market at the Klimt Villa on Feldmühlgasse 11 in Vienna's 13th district, Huber-Mader will be giving introductions to the house's history every Sunday starting November 30th. Tickets are available online or at the box office, offering visitors a unique opportunity to learn about Klimt's legacy from someone who carries his artistic DNA.
