Maison Lanvin The history of Maison Lanvin began in 1889, when Jeanne Lanvin opened her first hat shop, aged 22, in the heart of Paris. Four years later came the consecration for the young artist, with opening in Faubourg Saint-Honoré of the Maison with her own name: Maison Jeanne Lanvin. Her success is immediate—Parisian women ran to her shop. They loved her. Jeanne was a visionary business woman. She made clothes for her little girl and was so successful, she opened a children’s wear shop in 1897. Her acumen, her curiosity, made her be at the right place, at the right time. She was present for some of the most important events of the 20th century: in San Francisco in 1951 for the arts fair and the inauguration of the Golden Gate; she did a runway show for the first Atlantic crossing to New York of the Normandie; in 1925 she participated in Paris to the most important fair ever held on the decorative arts; in 1926, she became the first Parisian stylist to venture in the creation of a men’s wear line, giving the Maison two dimensions: a feminine and masculine dimension. On July 6th 1946, Madame Jeanne passed away, leaving an empire, in financial terms, but also in terms of her history as a dressmaker, creator, and interior designer. The baton was passed onto her beautiful daughter in the 50’s, then to various stylists, and her brand lives on today. Shop Woman