diff --git a/kitty/fast_data_types.pyi b/kitty/fast_data_types.pyi
index 6bc2bf199..87cc6483d 100644
--- a/kitty/fast_data_types.pyi
+++ b/kitty/fast_data_types.pyi
@@ -416,6 +416,10 @@ def fc_match_postscript_name(
     pass
 
 
+class Face:
+    def __init__(self, descriptor: Optional[FontConfigPattern] = None, path: str = '', index: int = 0): ...
+
+
 class CoreTextFont(TypedDict):
     path: str
     postscript_name: str
diff --git a/kitty/fontconfig.c b/kitty/fontconfig.c
index 3e6c2379e..7f29435bf 100644
--- a/kitty/fontconfig.c
+++ b/kitty/fontconfig.c
@@ -246,12 +246,8 @@ fc_list(PyObject UNUSED *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kw) {
         AP(FcPatternAddBool, FC_SCALABLE, FcTrue, "scalable");
     }
     if (spacing > -1) AP(FcPatternAddInteger, FC_SPACING, spacing, "spacing");
-#define basic_properties FC_FILE, FC_POSTSCRIPT_NAME, FC_FAMILY, FC_STYLE, FC_FULLNAME, FC_WEIGHT, FC_WIDTH, FC_SLANT, FC_HINT_STYLE, FC_INDEX, FC_HINTING, FC_SCALABLE, FC_OUTLINE, FC_COLOR, FC_SPACING
-    if (only_variable) {
-        AP(FcPatternAddBool, FC_VARIABLE, FcTrue, "variable");
-        os = FcObjectSetBuild(basic_properties, FC_VARIABLE, FC_FONT_VARIATIONS, NULL);
-    } else os = FcObjectSetBuild(basic_properties, NULL);
-#undef basic_properties
+    if (only_variable) AP(FcPatternAddBool, FC_VARIABLE, FcTrue, "variable");
+    os = FcObjectSetBuild(FC_FILE, FC_POSTSCRIPT_NAME, FC_FAMILY, FC_STYLE, FC_FULLNAME, FC_WEIGHT, FC_WIDTH, FC_SLANT, FC_HINT_STYLE, FC_INDEX, FC_HINTING, FC_SCALABLE, FC_OUTLINE, FC_COLOR, FC_SPACING, FC_VARIABLE, NULL);
     if (!os) { PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "Failed to create fontconfig object set"); goto end; }
     fs = FcFontList(NULL, pat, os);
     if (!fs) { PyErr_SetString(PyExc_ValueError, "Failed to create fontconfig font set"); goto end; }
diff --git a/kitty/fonts/__init__.py b/kitty/fonts/__init__.py
index cd468df69..1767efcd9 100644
--- a/kitty/fonts/__init__.py
+++ b/kitty/fonts/__init__.py
@@ -1,8 +1,5 @@
-try:
-    from typing import NamedTuple, TypedDict
-except ImportError:
-    TypedDict = dict
 from enum import Enum, IntEnum, auto
+from typing import Any, NamedTuple, TypedDict
 
 
 class ListedFont(TypedDict):
@@ -10,6 +7,8 @@ class ListedFont(TypedDict):
     full_name: str
     postscript_name: str
     is_monospace: bool
+    is_variable: bool
+    descriptor: Any
 
 
 class FontFeature:
diff --git a/kitty/fonts/fontconfig.py b/kitty/fonts/fontconfig.py
index ce78d4f52..d84336df9 100644
--- a/kitty/fonts/fontconfig.py
+++ b/kitty/fonts/fontconfig.py
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ from kitty.fast_data_types import (
     fc_match_postscript_name,
     parse_font_feature,
 )
-from kitty.fast_data_types import fc_match as fc_match_impl
+from kitty.fast_data_types import fc_match as fc_match_impl, Face
 from kitty.options.types import Options
 from kitty.typing import FontConfigPattern
 from kitty.utils import log_error
@@ -58,8 +58,8 @@ def all_fonts_map(monospaced: bool = True) -> FontMap:
     return create_font_map(ans)
 
 
-def list_fonts() -> Generator[ListedFont, None, None]:
-    for fd in fc_list():
+def list_fonts(only_variable: bool = False) -> Generator[ListedFont, None, None]:
+    for fd in fc_list(only_variable=only_variable):
         f = fd.get('family')
         if f and isinstance(f, str):
             fn_ = fd.get('full_name')
@@ -68,7 +68,10 @@ def list_fonts() -> Generator[ListedFont, None, None]:
             else:
                 fn = f'{f} {fd.get("style", "")}'.strip()
             is_mono = fd.get('spacing') in ('MONO', 'DUAL')
-            yield {'family': f, 'full_name': fn, 'postscript_name': str(fd.get('postscript_name', '')), 'is_monospace': is_mono}
+            yield {
+                'family': f, 'full_name': fn, 'postscript_name': str(fd.get('postscript_name', '')),
+                'is_monospace': is_mono, 'descriptor': fd, 'is_variable': fd.get('variable', False),
+            }
 
 
 def family_name_to_key(family: str) -> str:
@@ -171,3 +174,8 @@ def get_font_files(opts: Options) -> Dict[str, FontConfigPattern]:
 def font_for_family(family: str) -> Tuple[FontConfigPattern, bool, bool]:
     ans = find_best_match(family, monospaced=False)
     return ans, ans.get('weight', 0) >= FC_WEIGHT_BOLD, ans.get('slant', FC_SLANT_ROMAN) != FC_SLANT_ROMAN
+
+
+def get_variable_data_for_descriptor(fd: FontConfigPattern) -> None:
+    f = Face(descriptor=fd)
+    print(f)
diff --git a/kitty/fonts/list.py b/kitty/fonts/list.py
index a9303048e..fefccbd03 100644
--- a/kitty/fonts/list.py
+++ b/kitty/fonts/list.py
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 import sys
 from typing import Dict, List, Sequence
 
+from kittens.tui.operations import styled
 from kitty.constants import is_macos
 
 from . import ListedFont
@@ -11,7 +12,19 @@ from . import ListedFont
 if is_macos:
     from .core_text import list_fonts
 else:
-    from .fontconfig import list_fonts
+    from .fontconfig import get_variable_data_for_descriptor, list_fonts
+
+
+def title(x: str) -> str:
+    if sys.stdout.isatty():
+        return styled(x, fg='green', bold=True)
+    return x
+
+
+def italic(x: str) -> str:
+    if sys.stdout.isatty():
+        return styled(x, italic=True)
+    return x
 
 
 def create_family_groups(monospaced: bool = True) -> Dict[str, List[ListedFont]]:
@@ -22,19 +35,20 @@ def create_family_groups(monospaced: bool = True) -> Dict[str, List[ListedFont]]
     return g
 
 
+def show_variable(f: ListedFont, psnames: bool) -> None:
+    get_variable_data_for_descriptor(f['descriptor'])
+
+
 def main(argv: Sequence[str]) -> None:
     psnames = '--psnames' in argv
-    isatty = sys.stdout.isatty()
     groups = create_family_groups()
     for k in sorted(groups, key=lambda x: x.lower()):
-        if isatty:
-            print(f'\033[1;32m{k}\033[m')
-        else:
-            print(k)
+        print(title(k))
         for f in sorted(groups[k], key=lambda x: x['full_name'].lower()):
-            p = f['full_name']
-            if isatty:
-                p = f'\033[3m{p}\033[m'
+            if f['is_variable']:
+                show_variable(f, psnames)
+                continue
+            p = italic(f['full_name'])
             if psnames:
                 p += ' ({})'.format(f['postscript_name'])
             print('   ', p)
diff --git a/kitty/freetype.c b/kitty/freetype.c
index f542cba83..7d49b43e5 100644
--- a/kitty/freetype.c
+++ b/kitty/freetype.c
@@ -36,7 +36,7 @@ typedef struct {
     int ascender, descender, height, max_advance_width, max_advance_height, underline_position, underline_thickness, strikethrough_position, strikethrough_thickness;
     int hinting, hintstyle;
     FaceIndex instance;
-    bool is_scalable, has_color;
+    bool is_scalable, has_color, is_variable, has_svg;
     float size_in_pts;
     FT_F26Dot6 char_width, char_height;
     FT_UInt xdpi, ydpi;
@@ -201,8 +201,10 @@ init_ft_face(Face *self, PyObject *path, int hinting, int hintstyle, FONTS_DATA_
 #undef CPY
     self->is_scalable = FT_IS_SCALABLE(self->face);
     self->has_color = FT_HAS_COLOR(self->face);
+    self->is_variable = FT_HAS_MULTIPLE_MASTERS(self->face);
+    self->has_svg = FT_HAS_SVG(self->face);
     self->hinting = hinting; self->hintstyle = hintstyle;
-    if (!set_size_for_face((PyObject*)self, 0, false, fg)) return false;
+    if (fg && !set_size_for_face((PyObject*)self, 0, false, fg)) return false;
     self->harfbuzz_font = hb_ft_font_create(self->face, NULL);
     if (self->harfbuzz_font == NULL) { PyErr_NoMemory(); return false; }
     hb_ft_font_set_load_flags(self->harfbuzz_font, get_load_flags(self->hinting, self->hintstyle, FT_LOAD_DEFAULT));
@@ -265,6 +267,20 @@ face_from_descriptor(PyObject *descriptor, FONTS_DATA_HANDLE fg) {
     return (PyObject*)self;
 }
 
+static PyObject*
+new(PyTypeObject *type UNUSED, PyObject *args, PyObject *kw) {
+    const char *path = NULL;
+    long index = 0;
+    PyObject *descriptor = NULL;
+
+    static char *kwds[] = {"descriptor", "path", "index", NULL};
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(args, kw, "|Osi", kwds, &descriptor, &path, &index)) return NULL;
+    if (descriptor) return face_from_descriptor(descriptor, NULL);
+    if (path) return face_from_path(path, index, NULL);
+    PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "Must specify either path or descriptor");
+    return NULL;
+}
+
 FT_Face
 native_face_from_path(const char *path, int index) {
     int error;
@@ -733,6 +749,9 @@ static PyMemberDef members[] = {
     MEM(strikethrough_position, T_INT),
     MEM(strikethrough_thickness, T_INT),
     MEM(is_scalable, T_BOOL),
+    MEM(is_variable, T_BOOL),
+    MEM(has_svg, T_BOOL),
+    MEM(has_color, T_BOOL),
     MEM(path, T_OBJECT_EX),
     {NULL}  /* Sentinel */
 };
@@ -746,6 +765,7 @@ static PyMethodDef methods[] = {
 PyTypeObject Face_Type = {
     PyVarObject_HEAD_INIT(NULL, 0)
     .tp_name = "fast_data_types.Face",
+    .tp_new = new,
     .tp_basicsize = sizeof(Face),
     .tp_dealloc = (destructor)dealloc,
     .tp_flags = Py_TPFLAGS_DEFAULT,