Evening dress

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.

As a replacement for heavy shimmering beadwork, Lanvin experimented with metallic leather in the mid-1930s. The leather was often quilted and formed in ornate scroll forms or serpentine shapes. This plain white dress is an exemplary utilization of metallic leather by Lanvin. Her inclusion of the leather scrollwork on the belt is the only extra decoration and draws the viewer's eyes to the unique design. The use of a single bold and simple ornament on a dress is a signature of Lanvin's work.