ATLANTA, GEORGIA — The Savannah College of Art and Design is thrilled to present the exhibition Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture Heritage, opening April 4, 2025, at SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film in Atlanta. The first exhibition in the U.S. dedicated to Jeanne Lanvin’s work, Haute Couture Heritage features more than 60 exquisitely designed creations honoring the illustrious French couturière and her enduring legacy as the founder of France's oldest women-founded couture house still in existence.
"SCAD FASH cuts an immaculate silhouette with couturière Jeanne Lanvin's first stateside show, offering a transcendent opportunity for students and guests to experience Madame Lanvin’s unerring eye for elegance — up close and deeply personal. With the iconic robe de style and her innovative Art Deco–inspired patterns, Jeanne Lanvin embodies the rare grace of a bygone era. Once again, SCAD FASH proves the perfect venue to host the remarkable oeuvre of history’s finest fashion luminaries! Don’t miss Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture Heritage."
PAULA WALLACE
SCAD President and Founder
"It is a true honor to collaborate with SCAD FASH to reveal the private collection of Jeanne Lanvin that Azzedine Alaïa amassed since 1968. Alaïa had the vision to preserve French design history — the ‘haute couture savoir faire’ — and the work of couturiers and designers he admired. This exhibition is dedicated to Jeanne Lanvin, a pioneer in the history of fashion who founded her own couture house in the early 1900s and the first designer to create fashions for mothers and daughters, combining le bon goût with the refined couture silhouette. Her timeless vision of haute couture remains."
GAËL MAMINE
Guest curator and head of collections at Fondation Azzedine Alaïa
Haute Couture Heritage is exclusively curated for SCAD FASH by Gaël Mamine, head of collections at Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, in collaboration with Lanvin Heritage, Parodi Costume Collection, and SCAD FASH creative director Rafael Gomes. The exhibition features expertly preserved Jeanne Lanvin looks from designer Azzedine Alaïa’s personal archive that date from the late 1890s to the 1940s, spanning the height of her practice. Haute Couture Heritage also presents artful illustrations and photographs from the Lanvin Archives in Paris and select signature Jeanne Lanvin silhouettes from the Parodi Costume Collection in Miami.
Jeanne Lanvin began her career as a dressmaker and milliner, expanding into garments for children and women, and was named a member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture in 1909. Jeanne Lanvin was celebrated for her inventive approach to fashion design and profound knowledge of fabric and innovative techniques including embroidery, appliqué, and topstitching. The exhibition showcases several examples of Jeanne Lanvin’s most emblematic silhouette, the robe de style, with its wide, drop waist skirt that offered an alternative to the 1920s flapper dress. The house’s hallmark "Lanvin blue" serves as inspiration for the exhibition design.
"It was truly moving to discover these extraordinary pieces, among the finest of Jeanne Lanvin’s creations, carefully collected by Azzedine Alaïa. The two designers shared a deep passion for collecting fabrics, fashion magazines, and works of historical costumes. This retrospective dedicated to Jeanne Lanvin, made possible by SCAD FASH and the Fondation Azzedine Alaïa, offers a vibrant tribute to her modern vision and creative journey, which embraced millinery, children’s fashion, interior design, sportswear, perfumes, and menswear, all while embodying timeless elegance. We are thrilled to share her story with an international audience, as her work continues to inspire to this day."
LAURE HARIVEL
Head of Heritage, Lanvin
Haute Couture Heritage also features a SCAD-produced documentary short film, House of Lanvin, which chronicles the story of France’s oldest, woman-founded couture house still in existence. The film delves into the tenacity and artistry of Jeanne Lanvin and the daring present-day return to form of the house under the direction of Peter Copping. In homage to Jeanne Lanvin's enduring legacy, the SCAD FASH film salon will feature a replica of a couture atelier. Offering a rare glimpse into this workspace, the installation illuminates Copping’s notes and references that shaped his debut womenswear and menswear collections for the house in 2025.
"Jeanne Lanvin was the epitome of the modern woman. Ahead of her time in business and design, she had the ability to fold her worldly experiences into her elegant collections, transcending the everyday. SCAD FASH is proud to host this exceptional, premier exhibition in the U.S. honoring her legacy of creative brilliance with our students and museum visitors."
RAFAEL GOMES
Creative director of SCAD FASH museums
SCAD FASH welcomes museum members and SCAD students to the first look of Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture Heritage at an opening reception Thursday, April 3, as the final event of SCADstyle 2025, the university’s signature celebration of all facets of design. The evening includes a conversation with guest curator Gaël Mamine on Jeanne Lanvin’s influence and legacy. SCAD FASH is also honored to host Lanvin artistic director Peter Copping as the 2025 recipient of the prestigious SCAD Étoile.
Jeanne Lanvin: Haute Couture Heritage is on view April 4–Aug. 31, 2025, at SCAD FASH Atlanta. For more information, visit scadfash.org.
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Jeanne Lanvin was born in Paris in 1867. From an early age, her independence and strength of character foretold her extraordinary fate. At age 13, Lanvin earned her first wages working for a milliner on rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, followed by apprenticeships with the millinery workshop Maison Félix and the dressmaker Talbot and soon after an apprenticeship in Barcelona with Spanish dressmaker Maria-Berta Montage de Valentí. Returning to Paris, Lanvin opened her own millinery shop, and through sacrifice and persistence, her creations became sought after by the most fashionable Parisians.
In 1897, Lanvin gave birth to her only child, Marguerite Marie-Blanche di Pietro, who became her greatest love and muse, inspiring her to begin designing children’s clothing in 1908. Just a year later, Lanvin began designing womenswear, meeting the requirement to join the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture Parisienne. A true visionary, Lanvin captured the spirit of her times, bringing her fashion house to ever-greater heights. She continually expanded the brand — from menswear and sportswear to perfume and interior design — to meet the needs of an evolving society, heralding a lifestyle revolution.
Lanvin’s success was unmistakably due to her curiosity, inventiveness, and creative energy. With each new collection, she drew from her vast travels and cultural interests. Renowned for the femininity and modernity of her designs, Lanvin combined a bold use of colors with a profound knowledge of fabric and technique. Her ingenuity in transforming her materials and her distinctive ability to craft elegance with simplicity remains the hallmark of her career spanning more than half a century. Lanvin passed away peacefully at age 79 in 1946, leaving an empire and enduring legacy in her wake.
SCAD FASH MUSEUM OF FASHION + FILM
SCAD FASH Museum of Fashion + Film celebrates fashion as a universal language, garments as important conduits of identity, and film as an immersive and memorable medium. Situated within SCAD Atlanta, the museum presents dynamic exhibitions, captivating films, and enticing events that mine the rich and storied legacies of fashion history to inspire contemporary designers and future innovations. Supported by the university’s strong global presence and connections to renowned contemporary fashion designers, filmmakers, and creative professionals around the world, SCAD FASH is an integral part of the SCAD educational experience.
Like the award-winning SCAD Museum of Art, SCAD FASH serves as a creative resource for students of all ages and a wellspring of inspiration for visitors. Through programming that engages the university’s broad array of academic disciplines, SCAD FASH offers diverse exhibitions, films, installations, performances, and events to enliven and inspire the greater community year-round. Each program is designed to engage and appeal to visitors with varied backgrounds and interests, from textiles and jewelry to photography and film. Past exhibitions have featured the work of designers Christian Siriano, Robert Wun, Ruth E. Carter, Azzedine Alaïa, Pierre Cardin, Carolina Herrera, Mary Katrantzou, Guo Pei, and Oscar de la Renta. Photographic exhibitions have featured the work of Robert Fairer, Albert Watson, Jonathan Becker, Bill Cunningham, and Omar Victor Diop. Exhibitions are accompanied by curated film series that complement programming. Past SCAD commissioned films include Pierre Cardin: Le Futur, The First Monday in May, Funny Face, The Leopard, and Ovation for Oscar, among others. Visit scadfash.org.
SCAD: THE UNIVERSITY FOR CREATIVE CAREERS
SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 110 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2024 study found that 99% of SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 12 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more. Visit scad.edu.
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