Robe de Style

Jeanne Lanvin|House of Lanvin

1922 · silk, metal, glass · Costume Institute

Lanvin possessed one of the most cultured imaginations in early twentieth-century design. She studied Far Eastern and Middle Eastern dress and textiles; she understood and led the exploration for avant-garde cylindrical design; and she never forgot the panniered silhouette of the eighteenth century that became the robe de style. Historicist in limiting the dilation to the sides of her creations and maintaining a flat broadened front and back, the old and new silhouette was for Lanvin another vision of flatness, establishing dress on the plane. The two-dimensional plane was irresistible for another Lanvin specialty: embroidery.

Artist

Jeanne Lanvin|House of Lanvin

Date

1922

Medium

silk, metal, glass

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Stephen C. Clark, 1962