Jeanne Lanvin was ahead of her time. The French fashion visionary and imaginative businesswoman from a poor background not only created the first designer fashion line for children - this was colourful and full of lightness, at a time when children were still dressed like adults - the first tailored men''s collection and the first unisex eau de toilette, she also founded the longest-running fashion company in the world. This at times employed over 1000 people and included women''s, children''s and men''s fashion, accessories, fragrances, furnishing textiles and decorative objects, and even its own paint factory. The self-taught Lanvin started as a hat maker with her own boutique and managed to become one of the greatest fashion designers of the 20th century with creative energy and inventiveness. She created art deco costumes for theatre and film productions, developed the legendary perfume Arp- and a special Lanvin blue, based on the shade Fra Angelico blue. This richly illustrated
