Lanvin [Hardcover]

Dean Merceron (Author), Alber Elbaz (Contributor), Harold Koda (Contributor)

Book Description

Release date: October 23, 2007

The House of Lanvin evolved from the creative force and remarkable energy of an extraordinary woman, Jeanne Lanvin. Her design career survived fifty-six successful and productive years. Lanvin is the oldest surviving couture house, in near-continuous existence from 1909 through the present day. Her body of work includes millinery, children’s wear, haute couture, fragrances, furs, lingerie, menswear, and interior design among others. The continuous public appeal and the youthful image of these couture creations are lasting aspects of Madame Lanvin’s career. At the heart of this book are key collections from 1909 through 1946, the year of Lanvin’s death. Original fashion illustrations, beading and embroidery swatches play a crucial role in demonstrating her intricate, creative, and innovative techniques. The house of Lanvin is currently experiencing a period of great acclaim, emerging as a darling of the press, Hollywood, and the larger fashion community. With the most modern of efforts, Alber Elbaz, the current design director, is drawing from the rich Lanvin tradition to create an award-winning collection that at once evokes, reveres, and reinvents the intentions of its founder.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Alber Elbaz's most recent collection for Lanvin was an inspired study in romance, fluidity, and, maybe most importantly, winning the hearts (and checkbooks) of every buyer and editor in town. His flowing gowns and intricately embroidered dresses were also celebrated for their ability to reference the house's history while still moving very much forward. A new book by Dean L. Merceron, out next week, traces the ever-progressive history of Lanvin, from its founding in 1909 by Jeanne Lanvin up to the current reign of Elbaz, with a focus on the key collections from the first half of the twentieth century. The book is overflowing with images of gowns culled from the atelier's archive, collectors, and museums, giving a visual history to one of the most influential labels in French fashion, then and now. Harold Koda, chief curator of the Metropolitan Museum's Costume Institute, puts it best in his introduction: "Masterful old techniques come to life with contemporary relevance...the original spirit of Lanvin has been transposed to the present." -- Elle.com 10.2007

About the Author

Dean Merceron is an authority on 20th-century French fashion and is a contributor to the Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion. Harold Koda is Curator of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Alber Elbaz is the current Design Director of Lanvin.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 370 pages
• Publisher: Rizzoli; 1St Edition edition (October 23, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0847829537
• ISBN-13: 978-0847829538
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 2 x 12.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #69,481 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful but incomplete monograph on the house of Lanvin January 10, 2009

By A Dedicated Follower of Fashion

Format:Hardcover

This book is the best resource available regarding the original designs of Jeanne Lanvin, but it is an absolute travesty that the author chose not to include any mention of the house's creative output from the time of Lanvin's death in 1946 until the moment Alber Elbaz took the helm in 2002 almost fifty years later (with a whopping sixty pages devoted to the current designer). Granted Elbaz is a very talented man, but so were his predecessors Antonio del Castillo, Jules-Francois Crahay, and Claude Montana, and I fully expected them to be represented in this volume. For the fashion enthusiast, this book is certainly worth buying, but unless the omissions are corrected in a later volume it is manifestly an incomplete history of the house of Lanvin. You can find good examples of Crahay's designs for Lanvin in the book _Rare Bird of Fashion_, but I know of no serious scholarship regarding Antonio del Castillo's body of work, and this is a shame. This book is an indispensable addition to any library of the history of fashion, but it has absolutely missed an opportunity to showcase the creativity of Lanvin's successors / Elbaz's predecessors.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't Miss This Masterpiece February 6, 2008

By Grainne Fitzmorris

Format:Hardcover

This book makes the hair on the nape of my neck stand up. The research, the photographs, the interviews, the sketches - it's a masterpiece. If you don't have this book, run out and buy it.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GORGEOUSLY PRETTY April 10, 2008

By Christopher S. Smallwood

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

PRETTY can have a negative connotation....but NOT here. Truly PRETTY PRETTY illustrations and clothes. Lanvin clearly very different from the other greats. Her clothes are,well, dare I say PRETTY in the very best sense. Lots of pics and a real delight to see her work in depth. I can't speak to the text because I buy books for the pics. Also, very little on the current designer. Almost all the book on the original Lanvin...which is to my liking. I must say some of the 'new guys' stuff is fun too though.