Jeanne Lanvin
The Oldest Fashion House in Paris
Lanvin was born in 1867 and became the eldest of 11 children. She endured a childhood of poverty although her family was friendly with the famous French writer, Victor Hugo.
She began working at a young age for milliners and became an apprentice milliner at 16. She learned the skill of dressmaking from the fashion designer, Suzanne Talbot. A few years later, Lanvin felt ready to sell her own beautiful hats and set up stalls at the markets. She then opened her own boutique at the Rue Boissy d’Anglais.
Clients were impressed by Lanvin’s hats but her career didn’t really take off until she married the aristocrat Count di Pietro and had her daughter, Marguerite. Inspired by the pretty little girl, she made her charming pleated dresses trimmed with English embroidery. Soon she acquired wealthy and famous clients who wanted dresses for their children.
Jeanne Lanvin’s Couture House
Clients began requesting Lanvin’s designs for themselves as well as their children. She introduced the ‘war crinoline’ – a dress with a full skirt which allowed freedom of movement. These were more practical than the restrictive hobble skirts that Poiret had designed.
She is credited for designing the first ‘flapper dresses’, worn during the twenties. She made these chemise-style dresses for her daughter at first, but adapted the design for adults when they were admired by clients.
Her beautiful evening dresses with their long, clean lines were influenced by the Art Deco movement of the twenties. Actresses, such as Mary Pickford, and Marlene Dietrich, wore Lanvin clothes.
Lanvin made many innovations during her career. She established her own dye factory which made such colors as rose polignac and Velasquez green. She liked unusual colors inspired by her art collection. Lanvin Blue, a purplish-blue which she used to decorate her bedroom as well as on her designs, was said to have been inspired by a Fra Angelico painting.
She used luxurious fabrics, such as silk, velvet and brocade, and trimmed her designs with rich decorations, such as beads and embroidery. She began a menswear division. Famous men, such as the author Jean Cocteau, wore her menswear.
She also began Lanvin Decoration, an interior design section. She and Rateau, her business partner, designed Lanvin boutiques and the Daunou Theatre. At the height of her career in 1925 Lanvin employed more than 800 people and used 300 models in her fashion shows.
Lanvin’s Perfumes
Lanvin’s fragrance division launched the impressive fragrances, My Sin and Arpege. Arpège is still one of the most popular perfumes.
There are two stories about the name of Arpege. According to one, Jeanne Lanvin was inspired by her daughter’s practising scales on the piano so she called the perfume, Arpege, which means ‘arpeggio’. According to another, Marguerite sniffed the scent and said, “One would say an arpeggio.”
Jeanne Lanvin Dies
In 1946 Lanvin died, aged 79. Her daughter, Margeurite, who became a talented opera singer and married the Count de Polignac from one of the oldest French families, took over the business. Alber Elbaz is now the head designer of the French fashion house.
Sources
- Touten Parfum
- Grant, Linda, "Lanvin: A Hidden Allure", The Telegraph, 23 November 2007
Illustration of Lanvin models by Pierre Brissaud
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