The Pre-Spring 2021 collection from Lanvin, aptly named for the whimsical Le Palais Idéal in Aurvergne, encourages you to play dress-up. Inviting you to fantasize and linger in memories both real and fabricated, the collection maintains continuity with previous works and Lanvin’s trademark French influence. The dialogue between reality and surreality and the interactions between masculinity and femininity that inspire the collection almost harken back to the theater of the absurd, with a distinct elegant twist. Fashion stills from cinema played a significant role in the genesis of the collection, with the models becoming players in an “ensemble cast.”

A stark contrast is presented between the fantastical atmosphere of “Le Palais Idéal” and the natural quality of the materials used. Each piece was created using long-wearing wool, silk, cashmere, leather, and cotton, grounding the collection’s whimsy and imagination. The physical designs seem to build on a principle of re-visitation and re-invention; some pay homage to Jeanne Lanvin’s past collaboration with designer Armand Albert Rateau, others unearth iconic designs from the mid 2000s. Standouts include striking and delicate tailleurs, vibrant flowing dresses, and structured leather capes.

“Le Palais Idéal” aims to recreate the scene in the 1920s art film you missed when you blinked, to disturb the linear plane of fashion. It exists as not only the manifestation of the conversation between the real and the pretend, but of what happens when they merge.  In other words, Lanvin captures the uncapturable.