Jeanne-Marie Lanvin (; 1 January 1867 – 6 July 1946) was a French

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

fashion designer Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion in ...

. She founded the

Lanvin Lanvin () is a French Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Paris. Founded in 1889 by Jeanne Lanvin, it is the oldest French fashion house still in operation. Since 2018, it has been a subsidiary of Shanghai-based Lanvin Group. Bruno Sialel ...

fashion house and the

beauty Beauty is commonly described as a feature of objects that makes these objects pleasurable to perceive. Such objects include landscapes, sunsets, humans and works of art. Beauty, together with art and taste, is the main subject of aesthetics, o ...

and

perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

company Lanvin Parfums.

Early life

Jeanne Lanvin was born in Paris on 1 January 1867, the eldest of 11 children of Constantin Lanvin and Sophie Deshayes. She became an apprentice

milliner Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of ...

at Madame Félix in Paris at the age of 16. She trained with Suzanne Talbot and

Caroline Montagne Roux Caroline Montagne Roux (Paris 1858 – Barcelona 1941) was a French haute couture fashion designer. She founded a fashion house in Barcelona and was the friend and master of Jeanne Lanvin. She is also known as Carolina Montagne, Catalan version ...

before becoming a milliner on the

rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré The Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré () is a street located in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Relatively narrow and nondescript, especially in comparison to the nearby Avenue des Champs-Élysées, it is cited as being one of the most lux ...

in 1889.

Career

Jeanne Lanvin - Black Suit WP 20160324 018

In 1909, Lanvin joined the '' Syndicat de la Couture'' ( fr), which marked her formal status as a couturière. The clothing Lanvin made for her daughter began to attract the attention of a number of wealthy people who requested copies for their own children. Soon, Lanvin was making dresses for their mothers, and some of the most famous names in Europe were included in the clientele of her new boutique on the

, Paris. From 1923, the Lanvin empire included a dye factory in

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

. In the 1920s, Lanvin opened shops devoted to home décor,

menswear Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion ...

furs Fur is a thick growth of hair that covers the skin of mammals. It consists of a combination of oily guard hair on top and thick underfur beneath. The guard hair keeps moisture from reaching the skin; the underfur acts as an insulating blanket t ...

and

lingerie Lingerie (, , ) is a category of primarily women's clothing including undergarments (mainly brassieres), sleepwear, and lightweight robes. The choice of the word is often motivated by an intention to imply that the garments are alluring, fash ...

. Her most significant endeavour was the creation of Lanvin Parfums SA in 1924. Her signature

fragrance An aroma compound, also known as an odorant, aroma, fragrance or flavoring, is a chemical compound that has a smell or odor. For an individual chemical or class of chemical compounds to impart a smell or fragrance, it must be sufficiently ...

Arpège Arpège () is a 1927 perfume by Lanvin. It is considered to be one of the world's classic scents. History The fragrance has been referred to as the "fragrance of 1000 flowers" and its official name is a derivation of the musical term ''arpeggio' ...

, introduced in 1927,"Lanvin, Jeanne (1867–1946)." '' Dictionary of Women Worldwide: 25,000 Women Through the Ages'', edited by Anne Commire and Deborah Klezmer, vol. 1, Yorkin Publications, 2007, p. 1086. ''Gale eBooks''. Accessed 16 Sept. 2021. was inspired by the sound of her daughter Marguerite practicing her scales on the piano. (''Arpège'' is French for '' arpeggio''.) In 1922, Lanvin collaborated with celebrated French designer Armand-Albert Rateau in redesigning her apartment, her homes and her businesses. The living room, boudoir and bathroom of the apartment was reassembled in 1985 in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. For this domicile, Rateau designed some remarkable 1920–22 furniture in bronze.Mel Byars, 2004, p. 614. The pair developed a friendship. Rateau came aboard Lanvin's empire as manager of Lanvin-Sport, designing the Lanvin spherical ''La Boule'' perfume ''flacon'' for Arpège, originally produced by the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres. To this day, Arpège perfume containers are imprinted with

Paul Iribe Paul Iribe (8 June 1883 – 21 September 1935) was a French illustrator and designer in the decorative arts. He worked in Hollywood during the 1920s and was Coco Chanel's lover from 1931 to his death. Early life and career Joseph Paul Iribe was b ...

's gold image (rendered in 1907) of Lanvin and her daughter Marguerite. Rateau also managed Lanvin-Décoration, an interior-design department established in 1920, in the main store on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.

Personal life, death and legacy

In 1895, Lanvin married Count Emilio di Pietro, an Italian nobleman. Two years later she gave birth to a daughter, Marguerite (also known as Marie-Blanche) (1897–1958). The couple's only child, Marguerite di Pietro became an opera singer. She married the Count Jean de Polignac (1888–1943). On the death of her mother, she became the director of the Lanvin fashion house. Lanvin and di Pietro divorced in 1903. Lanvin married Xavier Melet in 1907, a journalist at the newspaper ''Les Temps'' and later the French

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England. Lanvin died on 6 July 1946. Her original office is preserved in Lanvin's corporate offices at 16 Rue Boissy d’Anglas in Paris.

Awards

Chevalier Chevalier may refer to: Honours Belgium * a rank in the Belgian Order of the Crown * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold * a rank in the Belgian Order of Leopold II * a title in the Belgian nobility France * a rank in the French Legion d'h ...

de l'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur, to Jeanne Lanvin, 1926 * Officier de l'Ordre de la Légion d'Honneur, to Jeanne Lanvin, 1938

Collection at the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York

File:"Roseraie" MET 64.126.7a-b front CP3.jpg, "Roseraie", evening dress (silk), spring/summer 1923 File:"Jolibois" MET 86.71.1 CP3.jpg, "Jolibois", evening dress (silk), fall/winter 1922–23 File:"Ko.I.Noor" MET C.I.60.19ab F.jpg, Ko.I.Noor, evening ensemble (silk and metal), spring/summer 1927 File:"Phèdre" MET 84.30 front CP3.jpg, "Phèdre", evening dress (silk and metal), fall/winter 1933 File:"Fusée" MET DT10674.jpg, "Fusée", evening dress (silk), 1938 File:"Cyclone" MET CI.46.4.18ab.jpg, "Cyclone", evening dress (silk and spangles), 1939

References

Sources

* Colette, Emilio Terry, et al. (1965). ''Homage à Marie-Blanche, Comtesse Jean de Polignac'', Monaco. * "Jeanne Lanvin" and "Claude Montana" in Morgan, Ann (1984). ''Contemporary Designers'', New York: Macmillan. , * "Castillo", "Jules-François Crahay", and "Jean Gaumont-Lanvin" in Remaury, Bruno, director (1994). ''Dictionnaire de la Mode au XXe Siècle'', Paris: Éditions du Regard. , * Barillé, Elisabeth (1997). ''Lanvin'', Paris: Assouline. , ) * Picon, Jérôme (2002). ''Jeanne Lanvin'', Paris: Flammarion. , * "Armand Albert Rateau" and "Jeanne Lanvin" in Byars, Mel (2004). ''The Design Encyclopedia'', New York: The Museum of Modern Art. , * Menkes, Suzy (24 May 2005). "At Lanvin, a master of improvisation", ''International Herald Tribune''.

External links

Lanvin home page
*
Biography of Lanvin of Toutenparfum.com

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lanvin, Jeanne French fashion designers Fashion designers from Paris French businesspeople in fashion 20th-century French businesswomen 1867 births 1946 deaths Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Children's clothing designers French women fashion designers