The collaboration between Jeanne Lanvin and the renowned architect, designer, and decorator Armand-Albert Rateau (1882–1938) marked one of the most extraordinary and luxurious chapters in the history of interior design and haute couture.
In 1920, Jeanne Lanvin hired Armand-Albert Rateau to completely redesign her personal residence located at number 16 Rue Barbet-de-Jouy in Paris, as well as her haute couture salons on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
Rateau was one of the most prominent figures of the Art Déco movement, famous for his refined mastery of patinated bronze, carved wood, marble, and forms inspired by classical antiquity (especially Greco-Roman and Egyptian art), reinterpreted with a modern and highly luxurious sensibility.
The success and aesthetic harmony between them was such that, in 1920, they decided to jointly establish a luxury interior design and furniture subsidiary called Lanvin Décoration.
Through this division, Rateau designed exceptional furniture, lacquered screens, bronze lamps with animal and floral motifs, sculptural mirrors, and sumptuous rugs that not only decorated the brand's boutiques but were also offered to an exclusive international clientele from high society.
Rateau's influence transcended furniture and reached the world of perfumery.
In 1927, for the launch of Arpège (the flagship perfume of the house), Armand-Albert Rateau designed the legendary and sophisticated black sphere-shaped bottle (the iconic "black ball" or flacon boule), topped with a gold cap carved with stylized details. This design became one of the most iconic masterpieces of 20th-century packaging design.
The joint work of Jeanne Lanvin and Armand-Albert Rateau redefined the concept of integral luxury (Art de Vivre), where fashion, architectural space, and everyday objects formed a total work of art.
Today, the original spaces designed by Rateau for Jeanne Lanvin —particularly her famous bathroom clad in marble and bronze with sculptural animal faucets— are preserved and permanently exhibited at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, being considered undisputed treasures of the Art Déco movement.
