Jeanne Lanvin

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. One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and '30s, Jeanne Lanvin's skillful 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, Marguerite di Pietro.

Early life

The eldest of 11 children, she became an apprentice milliner at Madame Félix in Paris at the age of 16 and trained at dressmaker Talbot before becoming a milliner in rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1889. cite web |title=Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946)|url=http://www.perfumeprojects.com/museum/marketers/Lanvin.php|accessdate=2008-08-05|publisher=http://www.perfumeprojects.com/index.php perfumeprojects.com]

Personal life

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's only child Marguerite di Pietro became an opera singer, married Count Jean de Polignac (1888–1943) and eventually the director of the Lanvin fashion house.Lanvin and di Pietro divorced in 1903. 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.

Career

In 1909, Lanvin joined the Syndicat de la Couture, which marked her formal status as a couturière. 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. She 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.who|date=August 2008

From 1923, the Lanvin empire included a dye factory in Nanterre. In the 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 who|date=August 2008 - "Arpège" is French for "arpeggio".Lanvin commissioned Albert-Armand Rateau (1884–1938) to decorate her apartment at 16 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, Paris, and two country houses. (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.fact|date=August 2008 During 1921–22, Rateau was manager of Lanvin-Sport and he also designed the iconic Lanvin spherical "La Boule" perfume "flaçon" for Arpège about 1925–34 (originally produced by the Manufacture Nationale de Sévres). To this day, Arpège perfume containers are 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.]

Awards

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

References

* 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. | ISBN 0-333-33524-4
* "Castillo", "Jules-François Crahay", and "Jean Gaumont-Lanvin" in Remaury, Bruno, director (1994). "Dictionnaire de la Mode au XXe Siècle", Paris: Éditions du Regard. | ISBN 2-84105-181-1
* Barillé, Elisabeth (1997). "Lanvin", Paris: Assouline. | ISBN 2-84323-015-2)
* Picon, JérIome (2002). "Jean Lanvin", Paris: Flammarion. | ISBN 2-08-210044-8
* "Armand Albert Rateau" in Byars, Mel (2004). "The Design Encyclopedia", New York: The Museum of Modern Art. | ISBN 0-87070-012-X
* Menkes, Suzy (May 24, 2005). "At Lanvin, a master of improvisation", "International Herald Tribune".

ee also

*Lanvin (clothing) for more information on the fashion house

External links

* [http://www.lanvin.com/ Lanvin home page]
* [http://www.toutenparfum.com/historique/lanvin/lanvin.en.php Biography of Lanvin of Toutenparfum.com]
* [http://vintagepatterns.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Lanvin Sewing patterns by Lanvin]
* cite web |publisher= Victoria and Albert Museum
url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1157_art_deco/about/starobjects/gown.htm
title= Jeanne Lanvin - Evening gown
accessdate= 2007-11-15
* cite web |publisher= Victoria and Albert Museum
url= http://www.vam.ac.uk/vastatic/microsites/1486_couture/explore.php
title= Interactive timeline of couture houses and couturier biographies