Founded in 1889 at 22, Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honore by Jeanne Lanvin (Paris 1867 – 1946), Lanvin is the oldest Parisian fashion house. From Haute couture (1909) to men’s fashion (1926), decoration (1920), and perfumes (“My Sin” in 1925, “Arpege” 1927), the young milliner became the Ambassador of French elegance; transforming her hat and clothing workshops into a veritable fashion empire. Jeanne Lanvin drew inspiration from her only child; Marguerite (later known as Marie-Blanche de Polignac, a talented opera singer). Marguerite succeeded her mother in 1946 and remained in charge until her death in 1958.
The delicately gilded figure on the spherical Arpege perfume bottle depicting Jeanne Lanvin and her daughter going to a ball has remained the symbol of this motherly love. It became the House logo in 1954. The Lanvin blue came to life through Madame’s spontaneous enthusiasm for a Fra Angelico painting. Along with the motifs created by Armand-Albert Rateau, Jeanne Lanvin’s decorator and partner, Lanvin created a distinctive image which remains to this day.
Jeanne Lanvin’s successors include include Antonio del Castillo, Dominique Morlotti, Jules-Francois Crahay, Maryll Lanvin, Claude Montana and Patrick Lavoix. In October 2001, Alber Elbaz was appointed artistic director of Lanvin in Paris. In August 2001, the company was purchased by the investor group Harmonie S.A., led by Mrs. Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media magnate, who hired Elbaz. In 2006, Elbaz introduced new packaging for the fashion house, incorporating the light forget-me-not blue color. There are shopping bags, imprinted with Paul Iribe’s 1907 illustration of Lanvin and her daughter Marguerite, and new shoe boxes much like antique library files, tied with black grosgrain ribbons, to emphasize the precious nature of the product.
Elbaz’s simple and feminine clothing — similar to the sporty, casual character of Lanvin’s 1920s outfits— has been lauded by the fashion press. Suzy Menkes wrote: “… Elbaz is every woman’s darling. And that includes Nicole (as in Kidman), Kate (Moss), Chloé Sevigny, Sofia Coppola and a slew of rising movie names.”
