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 a 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 a while, the girl began working in the fashion house of Suzanne Talbot.

Debut

Couturier Jeanne Laven opened her first hatatelier 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 earned money, taking the loan, Jeanne opened a new hat studio. It was located on the street Fobur Saint Honore.

Marriage

In 1896, Jeanne Laven married. Her chosen one was the Italian nobleman Emilio di Pietro. However, their alliance 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 true joy to the mother,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. She introduced her new models. The image of the daughter and mother is a landmark for the Lanvin fashion house.

For the youngest

At that time, children's clothing was onlyA 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. Clothes 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.

Lanwen's clothing was distinguished by the use of qualityfabrics, 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 the time were often sidelinedcomplex 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.

Silhouettes of the clothes she created generally compliedfashion trends of her time, however she could step back from the canons aside and offer something original if she considered it necessary. An example are women's dresses, which were called Robe de style.

In the twenties in the fashion included almost boyishthin female figures. 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 been preserved: a lush 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. From this moment the brand retains a vivid individuality and mainly produces haute couture clothing.