Lanvin Décoration

Created by Jeanne Lanvin and Armand-Albert Rateau in 1921, Lanvin Décoration prospered in the field of luxury interior decoration until 1925. Such an association between a couturière and an interior designer was unprecedented at that time. The creations resulting from their close collaboration and shared taste for ancient Eastern civilisations (the Théâtre Daunou, the two Lanvin boutiques at 15 and 22 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, the stands at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in 1925) are all characterised by the stylised naturalist vocabulary prevalent in Jeanne Lanvin’s mansion in rue Barbet-de-Jouy.

 
Lanvin Décoration’s shop at 15 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, opposite the Lanvin couture house, sold objects (furniture, furnishing fabrics, chandeliers, panelling, mural sculptures, embroideries) and decorative elements (cornices, mouldings, ceiling roses) enabling one to transform an interior like a theatre set, without altering it structurally.
 
These high-quality objects and furnishings were produced in the tradition of the 18^th century guilds, in the workshops that Rateau created at Neuilly-Levallois in 1920. On the 972 square-metre premises, a variety of crafts (carpentry, cabinetmaking, weaving, gilding, lacquer, sculpture, etc.) completed the entire production process in one place, from the original drawings to an interior’s decoration and furnishing. The firm’s embroideries were created and produced in Jeanne Lanvin’s workshops in rue du Faubourg saint-Honoré.

Interior of the Lanvin Décoration shop,
15 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré (1920-1921)

Rateau worked on the shop’s decoration at the same time as he decorated the dining room of the former Hôtel Arconati-Visconti at 16 rue Barbet-de-Jouy, acquired by Jeanne Lanvin in 1920. The bas-reliefs are now the property of Patrimoine Lanvin. The decoration of both the shop and the mansion are very similar in inspiration.

Rateau’s workshops at Neuilly-Levallois