Jeanne Lanvin was born in Paris on January 1st, 1867. The eldest in a family of eleven children, she started working at a very young age, delivering hats for a milliner located rue du Faubourg St-Honoré.

In 1885, she opened her own workshop in a tiny room atop the Saint-Honoré market, before opening shop in the rue Boissy d'Anglas in 1889. Jeanne Lanvin would perhaps have remained a milliner of some renown, had it not been for an event that changed the course of her life - the birth of her daughter Marguerite in 1897. This very special child, future musician and wife of Jean de Polignac (who "re-named" her Marie-Blanche), was a fascinating source of inspiration for her mother. Jeanne created dresses for Marguerite's dolls, then clothes for Marguerite herself. It didn't take long before Jeanne's millinery clients began ordering clothing.

In 1909, Jeanne became a member of the Dressmaker's Union, and her fashion career took off. Her love for Marguerite (the French word for "daisy") is clearly perceptible in all Jeanne's work - from the daisy motif chosen for the decoration of her townhouse in 1920, to the creation of the perfume Arpège seven years later. The golden emblem, showing Jeanne and her daughter dressed on their way to a ball, became Lanvin's logo in 1954.

Her authority and know-how made Jeanne Lanvin an important figure in fashion, and she was called on to preside over the haute couture sections at many International Exhibitions, Patron of the arts.