Lanvin (company)

Jeanne Lanvin S.A.
Private company
Industry Fashion
Founded 1889
Founder Jeanne Lanvin
Headquarters Paris, France
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Michele Huiban
(CEO)
Bouchra Jarrar
(Designer, women's collections)
Lucas Ossendrijver
(Designer, men's collections)
Products Apparel, accessories, perfume, jewelry
Parent Harmonie S.A.
Website lanvin.com
Footnotes / references
[1]

Lanvin is a French multinational high fashion house, which was founded by Jeanne Lanvin.

History

November 1915 Lanvin design shown in the United States.

Lanvin made such beautiful clothes for her daughter Marie-Blanche de Polignac that they began to attract the attention of a number of wealthy people who requested copies for their own children. Soon, Lanvin was making dresses for their mothers, and some of the most famous names in Europe were included in the clientele of her new boutique on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, Paris. In 1909, Lanvin joined the Syndicat de la Couture, which marked her formal status as a couturière.

From 1923, the Lanvin empire included a dye factory in Nanterre. In the 1920s, Lanvin opened shops devoted to home decor, menswear, furs and lingerie, but her most significant expansion was the creation of Lanvin Parfums SA in 1924 and the introduction of "My Sin" in 1925 widely considered a unique fragrance, an animalic-aldehyde based on heliotrope, which would be followed by her signature fragrance Arpège in 1927, inspired by the sound of her daughter's practicing her scales on the piano.

One of the most influential designers of the 1920s and 1930s, Jeanne Lanvin's skillful use of intricate trimmings, virtuoso embroideries and beaded decorations in clear, light, floral colors became a Lanvin trademark.

When Lanvin died in 1946, ownership of the firm was ceded to the designer's daughter, who had shared management of the firm from 1942 with a cousin and then a fashion-industry expert. Because Marie-Blanche de Polignac was childless when she died in 1958, the ownership of the House of Lanvin went to a cousin, Yves Lanvin.

From mid-1960's through to the takeover by L'Oreal, Lanvin was run by Bernard Lanvin. The export department was in the original factory in Nanterre where all the perfumes were made and bottled. The administrative Head Office was in Paris at 3, Rue de Tilsitt. In 1979, Lanvin bought its independence from Squibb USA and a major PR promotional tour was arranged by Paris in the United States in the same year.

Britain Midland Bank bought a stake in the company from the family in March 1989, and installed Léon Bressler to revamp the firm's faded image. However, in February 1990, Midland backed out and sold Lanvin to Orcofi, a French holding company led by the Vuitton family. From Orcofi, 50% of the House of Lanvin was acquired by L'Oréal in 1994, 66% in 1995 and 100% in 1996. Under L'Oréal's diverse umbrella, an array of CEOs who circulate within the French fashion industry have directed the company.

In August 2001, Lanvin, the oldest French fashion house still in operation,[2] was taken private again by investor group Harmonie S.A., headed by Mrs. Shaw-Lan Wang, a Taiwanese media magnate.[2] And, in October 2001, Alber Elbaz was appointed the Lanvin artistic director for all activities, including interiors.[2] In 2006, he introduced new packaging for the fashion house, featuring a forget-me-not flower color, Lanvin's favorite shade which she purportedly saw in a Fra Angelico fresco (Suzy Menkes, 2005.)

In 2005, Joix Corporatic was the Lanvin ready-to-wear license holder in Japan with retail value of €50 million.[3]

In 2006, Lucas Ossendrijver was appointed the head of the men's line, which debuted with great success, strengthening Lanvin's brand. The 2006 men's ready-to-wear collection was inspired by a Jean-Luc Godard film.[3]

While enjoying a revitalized reputation in luxury, Lanvin received mainstream press in the United States in May 2009 when Michelle Obama was photographed wearing a popular line of Lanvin's sneakers made of suede with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps while volunteering at a Washington, D.C. food bank. The sneakers were reportedly retailed at $540.[4]

On December 4, 2009, Lanvin opened their first US boutique in Bal Harbour, Florida.[5]

On September 2, 2010, it was announced by H&M that Lanvin would be their guest designer collaboration for the Winter 2010 collection.[2] The collection would be available to view beginning November 4, 2010 at HM.com. The collection would then be available to buy in 200 stores worldwide, on November 20, with a first look sale the day before exclusively at the H&M store in Las Vegas.[6] The main face of the collection video was supermodel Natasha Poly [7]

In 2011, Lanvin sales reached €203 million, not counting an estimated €4.5 million in revenues from licences.[2]

On November 20, 2013, Lanvin became the official tailor of Arsenal FC, a London-based football club.[8]

On October 28, 2015, Lanvin announced that Elbaz was no longer at the company. According to Elbaz, his removal was “the decision of the company’s majority shareholder.”[9]

Directors

Designers

References

  1. ↑ "Jeanne Lanvin S.A.: Private Company Information - Businessweek". Investing.businessweek.com. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Pilling, David (February 17, 2012). "Lunch with the FT: Shaw-Lan Wang". Financial Times. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 Chevalier, Michel (2012). Luxury Brand Management. Singapore: John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-1-118-17176-9.
  4. ↑ "First Lady Michelle Obama steps out in Lanvin sneakers and they're only $540!". NY Daily News. 2009-05-01. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  5. ↑ "Lanvin Opens in Bal Harbour - Designer/Luxury - Retail". WWD.com. 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  6. ↑ Drop whatever you are doing, Lanvin is coming to L.A. - The Daily Truffle - November 8, 2010
  7. ↑ "Lanvin for H&M - The Show (Promo 2011)". YouTube. 2010-11-02. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
  8. ↑ "Arsenal welcomes Lanvin". Arsenal.com. 2013-11-20. Retrieved 2013-11-20.
  9. ↑ "Alber Elbaz Pushed Out at Lanvin". WWD. Retrieved 2015-10-28.

External links

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