Zhanna Lanven: biography and activities

Jeanne Laven is a French fashion designer. She founded the Lanvin Fashion House in Paris. Our heroine was born in 1867 in the French capital. Her father was journalist Konstantin Laven.

Biography

Jeanne Marie Laven was the first child in the family. Subsequently, she had nine sisters and brothers. Some information sources say even about ten. The income level of the family was modest, so Lanven Jeanne found work at thirteen years old. She was the messenger of orders in the workshop of Madame Bonnie. There she worked for three years. In 1883, Jeanne went to see Madame Felix. Her atelier was located at the corner of Bussy d'Angles and Fobur Saint Honore. After some time, the girl began working in the fashion house of Suzanne Talbot.

Debut

Couturier Jeanne Laven opened her first hat shop in 1885, it did not last long. Soon the father of our heroine, who was then 18 years old, signed a contract with the dressmaker Maria-Berta Montage de Valenti about the training. The woman worked in Barcelona. Konstantin Laven wanted his daughter to master the sewing business. The agreement was signed for 3 months. However, a real friendship arose between the young Jeanne and Maria. Thanks to her, our heroine spent five years in Barcelona. She returned in 1890 to Paris. Thanks to the money earned, taking the loan, Jeanne opened a new hatshop. It was located on the street Fobyur Saint Honoré.

Marriage

In 1896, Jeanne Laven married. Her chosen one was the Italian nobleman Emilio di Pietro. However, their union broke up eight years later. In this marriage, Margaret Marie Blanche was born - the only daughter of our heroine. Subsequently, she became an opera singer and became famous in the high society of Paris as Marie-Blanche de Polignac.

The daughter became for the mother a true joy, inspiration, muse and pride. Marie-Blanche had a wonderful musical ear. Jeanne adored her and wanted the girl to be always dressed elegantly. She had the idea to create clothes for children in the studio. Marie-Blanche recalled that she was a small model. On her, Lanven introduced her new models. The image of the daughter and mother is a landmark for the Lanvin fashion house.

For the little ones

At that time, children's clothing was just a simplified version of what adults wore. Jeanne Laven began to create costumes for the youngest. It was this clothing that became the basis for her fashion studio. Models were developed directly for children and took into account their features. Clothing Lanven was invented for her daughter, but began to attract wealthy people who visited the studio. They asked our heroine to sew similar clothes for their children.

Lanven's clothes were distinguished by the use of quality fabrics, attention to the smallest details, the quality of performance. In this fashionable house for a child you could choose everything. In particular, fancy dresses, clutches and hats, elegant dresses and casual clothes were presented here.

Second marriage and further activity

In 1907, Jeanne Laven married again. Her chosen one was Xavier Mele - a journalist. The two of them traveled a lot. New impressions contributed to the birth of original ideas. From trips our heroine brought a large number of different fabrics. She collected them. Thus, she had a so-called library of tissues at her home.

Since 1909, Jeanne took up clothes and for ladies in adulthood. She often created ensembles for the mother and daughter. Lanven entered the world of high fashion and became a full-time couturier. The period of the First World War suspended the development of the Fashion House for a while. After the end of these tragic events, the activities of our heroine unfolded on a grand scale.

True fame for Lanven came in the twenties. In 1918, she occupied a building located on the Faubourg Saint Honoré. There were workshops, an atelier and her own apartment. Such an organization was in the era described novelty.

Fashion houses at that time often sidestepped the complex in performance orders. Since 1915, after our heroine visited San Francisco at the World Exhibition, she visited the US regularly. Like a number of other couturiers, Lanven realized the importance of the American market for the fashion of Paris. Her company was doing well. Thus, Lanven became a well-known and wealthy person.

The silhouettes of the clothes she created were generally subordinate to the fashion trends of her time, but she could step back from the canons and offer something original, if she considered it necessary. An example are women's dresses called Robe de style.

In the twenties, almost boyish, slim female figures entered the fashion. They had an implicitly expressed waist and narrow hips. However, not all ladies could afford such clothes, although many of them tried to lose weight. Then Zhanna Lanven developed a completely different option. Over the years, some details have changed, but the main elements have remained: a sumptuous skirt, a slightly understated waistline. Such clothes inspired good thoughts about the XVIII century.

Since 1925, Lanvin has been producing perfumes. After the death of our heroine (July 6, 1946), the management of the house was entrusted to her daughter. In 2001, the designer was engaged in the design of Albert Elbaz. Since that moment, the brand retains a vivid personality and mainly produces haute couture clothing .