Evening dress

Jeanne Lanvin|House of Lanvin

fall/winter 1930–31 · silk · Costume Institute

Jeanne Lanvin was apprenticed to a milliner and a dressmaker before opening her own millinery shop in 1889. She expanded into dressmaking when her clients began asking for the ensembles in which she adorned her daughter, Marguerite di Pietro (1897-1958). Her style embodied the femininity of youth in a most modern way with meticulous and relatively sparse surface embellishments and robe de style silhouettes, which could be worn by women of all ages. Lanvin's aptitude can be seen through her house's 1920s expansion into fur, lingerie, men's wear, household goods and perfume. She even had the forethought to open her own dye factory which produced the inimitable 'Lanvin blue.' The longevity of the House of Lanvin can be credited to her attentive management and design standards from its inception. The basic black and white color combination is continually in fashion as it was throughout Lanvin's career. Lanvin utilized the chic colors in her designs and often donned the two colors herself. This evening dress shows the elegance of the simple palate on a silhouette which epitomizes the classiness of the early 1930s. The geometry and construction of the asymmetrical skirt shows Lanvin at her finest.

Artist

Jeanne Lanvin|House of Lanvin

Date

fall/winter 1930–31

Medium

silk

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. George B. Wells, 1957