Launched in 1923, Lajéa by Lanvin is one of those perfumes whose very name seems to hold a subtle enigma. Pronounced as "lah-ZHAY-ah", the word carries a dual resonance. On one hand, it refers to Lajea, a region in Brazil, conjuring images of exotic landscapes, tropical light, and a sense of faraway escape. On the other, it can be read as an abbreviation of La Jeanne—a kind of playful, almost signature-like reference to Jeanne Lanvin herself. This duality makes the name both worldly and personal, both outward-looking and inwardly reflective, much like Lanvin’s work as a designer who combined her Parisian couture identity with inspirations gathered from her travels.
The images that Lajéa evokes are rich with atmosphere. One can imagine shimmering heat, lush greenery, and the languid beauty of distant lands, paired with the intimacy of something handcrafted and signed by its creator. For the fashionable women of the early 1920s, the name would have suggested both sophistication and modern curiosity. This was, after all, an era of fascination with the “exotic”—a time when Brazil, the Middle East, and Asia were romanticized in art, fashion, and interiors. But it was also the age of Les Années Folles (“the Crazy Years”), when women embraced newfound freedoms, short haircuts, dropped waists, and a dazzling mix of avant-garde and traditional beauty. Lajéa would have spoken to this balance: an exotic escape framed within the refinement of Parisian chic.
