Lancel: Parisian Maison since 1876

Description

Lancel, the iconic French fashion house renowned for establishing the handbag as a womenswear essential and inventing the covetable Bucket bag, has set trends throughout its history, collaborating with celebrities from Josephine Baker to Brigitte Bardot and great designers from Patrick Demarchelier to Viviane Sassen. Marking its 140th anniversary, this volume - featuring original art from Martin Parr, Marjane Satrapi, and Jean-Philippe Delhomme - uncovers the rich history of Lancel and reveals the secrets behind the brand's continued success. Founded in 1876 and originally specializing in smoking accessories, Lancel soon expanded its product line and its name became synonymous with incomparable savoir-faire and sophistication - from toiletry cases to Bambino (the smallest radio set in the world), or from travel luggage to the unique and inventive Umbrella bag. Combining luxury with functionality, its aim has always been to simplify life while making it more beautiful, an ideal that the house continues to perpetuate today.

Laurence Benaim is a fashion journalist, author, and historian who has published biographies of Yves Saint Laurent and Marie-Laure de Noailles.

"A beautiful compendium that would make a coffee-table treasure." -French Property News "Lancel: Parisian Maison traces the past, present, and future of the legendary brand.... If the prospective reader is a Francophile, a lover of all things within the French fashion orbit, or just one who seeks to learn about a product/brand that has very little presence in the USA, then this book has your name on it. The metamorphosis and evolution of the brand and its products are the raisons d'etre for the tome and without a doubt Lancel: Parisian Maison delivers on all those counts." -Jeffrey Felner, New York Journal of Books