Lanvin

The illustration of a mother and daughter that is the symbol for the House of Lanvin is based on a photograph of designer Jeanne Lanvin and her child, Marguerite Marie-Blanche. It is an apt brand image, for their relationship was central to Lanvin’s success. It was Marguerite who served her mother’s primary inspiration.

Trained as a seamstress, Jeanne Lanvin worked for the milliner Maison Félix before opening her own millinery salon in 1889. In 1908, at the behest of customers who greatly admired the clothing she made for her daughter, Lanvin began designing children’s wear. In 1909, she introduced her first women’s wear collection. Over the years, her business grew to include sportswear, menswear, and fragrance.

The robe de style of the 1920s is perhaps Lanvin’s most famous design. Supremely romantic, this ultra-feminine dress with a low waistline, full skirt, and side panniers, was evocative of an eighteenth-century gown. Often adorning the robe de style were lavish embroideries, appliqués, or beaded designs, features for which the House of Lanvin was well-known. The journalist Janet Flanner, writing for Ladies’ Home Journal in April 1929, observed that although Lanvin had a strong proclivity for historical styles, her fashions were nonetheless modern. Flanner concluded that Jeanne Lanvin had successfully “pulled the past forward.” Lanvin also drew influences from other cultures, particularly Japan and China, and hints of exoticism are often present in her designs. In the 1930s, she continued to highlight the sleekness of her fashions through her imaginative and expert use of embellishment and surface texture.

The House of Lanvin survived the 1946 death of its founder, and continued to produce couture collections until 1993. Alber Elbaz served as artistic director for the house of Lanvin from 2001 to 2015. His work was ideally suited to a house so long equated with romance, youth, and femininity. As J.J. Martin wrote in Harper’s Bazaar in September 2007, Elbaz “manages the rare achievement of both technical and poetic beauty.” In March of 2016 Bouchra Jarrar was appointed the new artistic director of women's collections at Lanvin.