JEANNE LANVIN
Name: Jeanne Lanvin
Born: 1 January 1867
Died: 6 July 1946
Jeanne Lanvin (b. Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, Paris, January 1, 1867–d. Paris, July 6,
1946) was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house.
Lanvin became known for her mother-and-daughter outfits and exquisite robes de
style, as well as her modern and global approach to the fashion industry.
Lanvin was the eldest of 11 children. At age 16, she was an apprentice milliner
at Madame Félix in Paris; then trained at dressmaker Talbot and, 1889, set up as
a milliner at 22 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
In 1895, Lanvin married her first husband, Count Emilio di Pietro, an Italian
nobleman, and two years later gave birth to a daughter, Marguerite (a.k.a Marie-Blanche,
1897-1958). The couple divorced in 1903, and their only child became an opera
singer and eventually the director of the Lanvin fashion house; in 1925,
Marguerite di Pietro married Count Jean de Polignac (1888–1943). Lanvin's second
husband, whom she married in 1907, was Xavier Melet, a journalist at the
newspaper Les Temps and later the French consul in Manchester, England.
Lanvin made such beautiful clothes for her daughter that they 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 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris. 1909, Lanvin joined the Syndicat de
la Couture, which marked her formal status as a couturière.
From 1923, the Lanvin empire included a dye factory in Nanterre. 1920s, Lanvin
opened shops devoted to home decor, menswear, furs and lingerie, but her most
significant expansion was the creation of Lanvin Parfums SA in 1924 and the
introduction of her signature fragrance Arpège in 1927, inspired by the sound of
her daughter's practising her scales on the piano.
Lanvin commissioned Albert-Armand Rateau (1884–1938) to decorate her apartment
at 16 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, Paris, and two country houses. The living, 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. During 1921–22, Rateau was manager of Lanvin-Sport and he
also designed the Lanvin spherical La Boule perfume flacon for Arpège of about
1925–34 (still produced, originally by the Manufacture Nationale de Sévres). It
is imprinted with Paul Iribe’s gold image of 1907 of Lanvin and her daughter
Marguerite. Rateau also designed Lanvin’s fashion house and managed the Lanvin-Décoration
department of interior design (established 1920) in the main store on the rue du
Faubourg Saint-Honoré. (Mel Byars, 2004, p. 614.)
One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and '30s, Jeanne Lanvin's
skilful use of intricate trimmings, virtuoso embroideries and beaded decorations
in clear, light, floral colors became a Lanvin trademark.
When Lanvin died in 1946, ownership of the firm was ceded to the designer's
daughter.
Name: Jeanne Lanvin
Born: 1 January 1867
Died: 6 July 1946
Jeanne Lanvin (b. Jeanne-Marie Lanvin, Paris, January 1, 1867–d. Paris, July 6,
1946) was a French fashion designer and the founder of the Lanvin fashion house.
Lanvin became known for her mother-and-daughter outfits and exquisite robes de
style, as well as her modern and global approach to the fashion industry.
Lanvin was the eldest of 11 children. At age 16, she was an apprentice milliner
at Madame Félix in Paris; then trained at dressmaker Talbot and, 1889, set up as
a milliner at 22 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
In 1895, Lanvin married her first husband, Count Emilio di Pietro, an Italian
nobleman, and two years later gave birth to a daughter, Marguerite (a.k.a Marie-Blanche,
1897-1958). The couple divorced in 1903, and their only child became an opera
singer and eventually the director of the Lanvin fashion house; in 1925,
Marguerite di Pietro married Count Jean de Polignac (1888–1943). Lanvin's second
husband, whom she married in 1907, was Xavier Melet, a journalist at the
newspaper Les Temps and later the French consul in Manchester, England.
Lanvin made such beautiful clothes for her daughter that they 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 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris. 1909, Lanvin joined the Syndicat de
la Couture, which marked her formal status as a couturière.
From 1923, the Lanvin empire included a dye factory in Nanterre. 1920s, Lanvin
opened shops devoted to home decor, menswear, furs and lingerie, but her most
significant expansion was the creation of Lanvin Parfums SA in 1924 and the
introduction of her signature fragrance Arpège in 1927, inspired by the sound of
her daughter's practising her scales on the piano.
Lanvin commissioned Albert-Armand Rateau (1884–1938) to decorate her apartment
at 16 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, Paris, and two country houses. The living, 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. During 1921–22, Rateau was manager of Lanvin-Sport and he
also designed the Lanvin spherical La Boule perfume flacon for Arpège of about
1925–34 (still produced, originally by the Manufacture Nationale de Sévres). It
is imprinted with Paul Iribe’s gold image of 1907 of Lanvin and her daughter
Marguerite. Rateau also designed Lanvin’s fashion house and managed the Lanvin-Décoration
department of interior design (established 1920) in the main store on the rue du
Faubourg Saint-Honoré. (Mel Byars, 2004, p. 614.)
One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and '30s, Jeanne Lanvin's
skilful use of intricate trimmings, virtuoso embroideries and beaded decorations
in clear, light, floral colors became a Lanvin trademark.
When Lanvin died in 1946, ownership of the firm was ceded to the designer's
daughter.