A visually stunning tribute to a fashion visionary and the world's longest-established couture company in the world

Jeanne Lanvin was ahead of her time. The French fashion visionary and imaginative businesswoman from a poor background not only created the first designer fashion line for children – this was colourful and full of lightness, at a time when children were still dressed like adults – the first tailored men’s collection and the first unisex eau de toilette, she also founded the longest-running fashion company in the world. This at times employed over 1000 people and included women’s, children’s and men’s fashion, accessories, fragrances, furnishing textiles and decorative objects, and even its own paint factory. The self-taught Lanvin started as a hat maker with her own boutique and managed to become one of the greatest fashion designers of the 20th century with creative energy and inventiveness. She created art deco costumes for theatre and film productions, developed the legendary perfume Arpège and a special Lanvin blue, based on the shade Fra Angelico blue. This richly illustrated coffee table book is dedicated to the extraordinary life and work of this exceptional designer.

Text in English and German.

About the Authors:

Art historian Agata Toromanoff has curated numerous projects and exhibitions in the field of contemporary art for collectors and galleries. As an author, she writes about art, design, architecture and photography. In 2014 she founded the book agency Fancy Books, which she runs with her husband Pierre. Pierre Toromanoff studied mathematics and Slavic studies in Paris. He worked for over 25 years as a sales manager and managing director for various art publishers. Since 2016, he has published widely on fine art, fashion, design, and pop culture.

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Пролистать книгу Jeanne Lanvin: Fashion Pioneer 

An important monograph on the complete work thus far of Alber Elbaz for Lanvin — one of fashion’s most transformative designers working today, who employs mise-en-scènes as a principal way of staging his work.

Under the helm of present design director Alber Elbaz, Lanvin is now one of the powerhouses of Paris fashion, and his respectful nod to the origins and founding aesthetic of Lanvin is tempered by an unrivaled, transformative energy that has created a new, youthful audience for the house. One of the pillars of Elbaz’s work, apart from staging dynamic runway presentations, is a unique way of presenting his designs in the windows of their flagship stores, most notably in the boutique on the Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. These mise-en-scènes, which change every month, are well regarded as elaborate spectacles unique even in fashion. Seducing passersby into his very distinctive brand of street theater and occasionally employing prominent artists of the day, Elbaz’s windows are above all about the clothes, and his designs are given pride of place in a variety of elegant and often playful episodes.

The book showcases the fashion and spirit of Lanvin with nearly two hundred compositions, from those shown at their boutiques to one-offs at the Crillon, and as far afield as Art Basel in Miami, as well as unpublished renderings of concepts hand-drawn by Elbaz.

About the Author:

Alber Elbaz was born in Israel and is presently the design director of the house of Lanvin.

The House of Lanvin evolved from the creative force and remarkable energy of an extraordinary woman, Jeanne Lanvin. Her design career survived fifty-six successful and productive years

Lanvin is the oldest surviving couture house, in near-continuous existence from 1909 through the present day. Her body of work includes millinery, children’s wear, haute couture, fragrances, furs, lingerie, menswear, and interior design among others. The continuous public appeal and the youthful image of these couture creations are lasting aspects of Madame Lanvin’s career. At the heart of this book are key collections from 1909 through 1946, the year of Lanvin’s death. Original fashion illustrations, beading and embroidery swatches play a crucial role in demonstrating her intricate, creative, and innovative techniques. The house of Lanvin is currently experiencing a period of great acclaim, emerging as a darling of the press, Hollywood, and the larger fashion community

With the most modern of efforts, Alber Elbaz, the current design director, is drawing from the rich Lanvin tradition to create an award-winning collection that at once evokes, reveres, and reinvents the intentions of its founder.

About the Authors:

Dean Merceron is an authority on 20th-century French fashion and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Harold Koda is Curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alber Elbaz is the current Design Director of Lanvin.