Jeanne-Marie Lanvin (; 1 January 1867 – 6 July 1946) was a French haute couture fashion designer. She founded the Lanvin fashion house and the beauty and perfume company Lanvin Parfums.

Early life

thumb|Portrait of Jeanne Lanvin in 1925 by [[Clémentine-Hélène Dufau, Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris]]

thumb|Designs by Jeanne Lanvin in [[La Gazette du Bon Ton, 1915]]

Jeanne Lanvin was born in Paris on 1 January 1867, the eldest of 11 children of a press employe Constantin Lanvin and a seamstress Sophie Deshayes. She became an apprentice milliner (hat maker) at Madame Félix in Paris at the age of 16. She trained with Suzanne Talbot and Caroline Montagne Roux before becoming a milliner on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1889.

Career

thumb|Black Sweater Suit, 1940s, Rijksmuseum

thumb|right|1915, dark blue suit with white trim on coat and skirt and white collar; white fedora with blue sash

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 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. One of her models Maria Minard was the grandmother of future French actor Alain Delon.

From 1923, the Lanvin empire included a dye factory in Nanterre. In the 1920s, Lanvin opened shops devoted to home décor, menswear, furs and lingerie. Her most significant endeavour was the creation of Lanvin Parfums SA in 1924. Her signature fragrance, Arpège, introduced in 1927, 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 home, Rateau designed some remarkable 1920–22 furniture in bronze.

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 globe, designed by Rateau, are imprinted with Paul Iribe'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.

Savannah College of Art and Design's SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film unveiled the first U.S. show dedicated to her work, Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture Heritage, on April 4, 2025.

Awards

  • Chevalier 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

<!-- These honors belong to the House of Lanvin * Five Dès d'Or awards (three to François Crahay, 1977, 1981 and 1984; two to Claude Montana, 1990 and 1992) -->

See also

  • Lanvin (clothing) for more information on the fashion house
  • Arpège

Collections

<gallery class="center" widths="180" heights="180">

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

File:Japon, Lanvin, 1929 Marguerite de la nuit, MMH.2023.0008, Modemuseum Hasselt.jpg|Japon, Lanvin, 1929 Marguerite de la nuit, MMH.2023.0008, Modemuseum Hasselt.

</gallery>

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.
  • Lanvin home page
  • Biography of Lanvin of Toutenparfum.com
  • The 'Jeanne Lanvin' fragrance, named after Lanvin's founder, on the Lanvin Parfums website