"A long history of success: the Lanvin fashion house is the oldest in the world. The first creations by the later haute couture salon were simply clothes for children.
(...)
Lanvin's first contact with fashion came early in life - admittedly less out of creative passion than economic hardship. In order to help support her six younger siblings, Lanvin, then only fifteen, took a job with a tailor in the suburbs of Paris. In 1890, at twenty-seven, Lanvin took the daring leap into independence, though on a modest scale. Not far from the splendid head office of today, she rented two rooms in which, for lack of fabric, she at first only made hats. Since the severe children's fashions of the turn of the century did not appeal to her, she tailored the clothing for ther young daughter Marguerite herself: tunic dresses designed for easy movement (sans tight corsets or starched collars) in colorful patterned cotton fabrics, generally adorned with elaborate smocking. The gentle Marguerite, later known as Marie-Blanche, was to become the Salon Lanvin's first model. When walking on the street, other mothers asked Lanvin and her daughter from where the colorful loose dresses came. The result: a flood of comissions.
Jeanne Lanvin found her niche - and made use of her opportunity. With the help of a loan of 300 francs and the good will of her fabric suppliers, she launched her fashion lines "Enfant" and "Jeune Fille". The style of this junior haute couture (the first on sale in Paris) varied mainly in the choice of fabrics, the embroidery, and the colors. The silhouette meanwhile remained the same: a close-fitting top with a long, fluffy, flared skirt, set low on the hips. (...) There soon followed women's haute couture, which beginning in the twenties was among the most distinguished in Paris. Her trademark was softly flowing fabrics, multilayered elegant cuts, and the bold use of color.
(...) To take full advantage of her first-class embroidery department, Lanvin, always highly efficient in bussiness and organizational matters, launched her first men's collection in 1926. Its focus was on the richly embroidered official uniforms of the Académie Française. (...) "
in 50 Fashion Designers you should know by Simone Werle.
