Do you like beautiful interiors and elegant dresses? Do you like fashion and haute couture? If so, go ahead and see the remarkable exhibition ‘Jeanne Lanvin’ which is taking place in the Palais Galliera, Musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris, until 8 August 2015. I very much enjoyed my visit there especially since I did not really know much about the creativity, talent and modernity of this great lady of haute couture: it is absolutely stunning!
The Lanvin blue: a cult colour
About a hundred models from the amazing collections of the Palais Galliera and the Lanvin Heritage are displayed in five beautiful thematic rooms. The first room is the most classic where one can admire beautiful dresses: most of them are black but not only. I’ve loved the Lanvin blue dresses, made in the famous ‘Quattrocento Blue’ which became a cult colour of the fashion house. I’ve also loved the blue velvet evening jacket ‘Mensonge’, and many of the Black and White dresses: ‘Sèvres’, ‘Lotus’, …
100 dresses beautifully displayed
In the following rooms one can see successively ethnic dresses, whose design and fabrics were inspired to Jeanne Lanvin by travel diaries or art books; Children and Young Ladies’ dresses; wedding dresses; and in the last room evening dresses. Some of them are incredibly modern and could be worn at the present time, such as the ‘Sphinx’ dress (ethnic) or the ‘Bel Oiseau’ (elegant black taffeta and pearl embroidery dress) for instance. Many are part of the Art Deco movement and were exhibited in 1925 in the International Decorative Arts Exhibition in Paris.
The whole is beautifully displayed with lighting and mirror effects. The scenography of the exhibition is really good and was made in close collaboration with Alber Elbaz who has been the Lanvin designer for more than ten years. The interior decoration of the Palais Galliera, with its walls painted in red, its mosaic floors and painted high ceilings lends itself to the exhibition of dresses and emphasizes the collector’s items displayed. I could not take any picture as it is forbidden and the museum attendant was very watchful: I let you be surprised and dazzled on the spot!
JEANNE LANVIN, A TALENTED and Inspired Lady
I also enjoyed to get to know Jeanne Lanvin, who was not only the founder of the oldest fashion house still in business in Paris, but above all a remarkable woman and mother with brilliant ideas, whose creations were inspired mainly by her daughter Marguerite and are really exceptional thanks to their design, fabrics, materials and colours… and remain incredibly present almost a century later.
Coco Chanel or Yves Saint Laurent inspired several movies. Why not Jeanne Lanvin, the talented lady who opened in 1889 under the name ‘Lanvin-Mademoiselle Jeanne-Modes’ the oldest fashion house in Paris, now called the Lanvin house?
Christine Bokobza – Good Morning Paris B&B – www.goodmorningparis.fr
Practical information: Palais Galliera – 10 avenue Pierre 1er de Serbie 75016 Paris