Kenneth Jay Lane Dies in New York at 85
Costume jewelry designer Kenneth Jay Lane, 85, died in his New York apartment.
It had not been determined whether he died Wednesday evening or Thursday morning, according to Chris Sheppard, executive vice president of Kenneth Jay Lane Inc.
After attending school at the University of Michigan and Rhode Island School of Design, the Detroit native made his way to New York where he worked on Vogue’s art team in 1954 before venturing into design at Delmain Shoes. He later worked for Roger Vivier at Christian Dior before striking out on his own in 1961. As a resourceful young designer, Lane repurposed some of the scrap leather that were not used for Vivier-approved heels and wrapped them around bangles that he has bought from Lamstons, a five-and-dime type store. Accenting footwear with jewels piqued an interest in costume jewelry design.
During his many years in fashion, the designer’s pieces were worn by such style setters as Jacqueline Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland, Len Horne, Elizabeth Taylor, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Diana and Nancy Reagan. In an interview with WWD last month regarding his loan of 25 paintings to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the designer recalled his days advising his friend Diana Vreeland years ago, by handling the jewelry for The Costume Institute’s exhibitions. “She got these mannequins from Austria, I think, from a company called Schleppe. They were very streamlined, and she would say, ‘I need more Schleppies.’ She was a hoot,” Lane said.
Earlier this summer Lane loaned pieces from the vast art collection that adorned the 26-foot walls of his Upper East Side apartment including works by Horace Vernet, Benjamin-Constant, Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ and Jean-Léon Gérôme to the Met. He first became a member of the Costume Institute’s Visiting Committee in 2002 and was also a member of the Ventian Heritage International. A believer that glamour is all year round, Lane said last month, “I don’t exactly do collections — spring, fall, summer, etc. I do whatever comes into my mind whenever it comes in to my mind. That seems to have been working for the last 50 years, so…”
Judy Price, founder and president of the National Jewelry Institute, said Thursday, “When I started the National Jewelry Institute, he said, ‘It wouldn’t work.’ And then who did we get out first gift from — something by Jean Schlumberger from Diana Vreeland.”
Price, who spoke with Lane on the phone every other day, said, “He was an incredible snob but a great pal. He could be difficult but you had to be on your toes. You had to read a lot. You couldn’t go out and just gossip. He was not that kind of guy.”
Much of his career is detailed in the 1996 book “Kenneth Jay Lane: Faking It.” More recently British filmmaker Gisèle Roman has been shooting a documentary about the gravelly voiced designer titled “Fabulously Fake: The Real Life of Kenneth Jay Lane.” The yet-to-be-released behind-the-scenes film features Diane von Furstenberg, Tory Burch, Joan Collins, Barbara Bush, Anne and Kirk Douglas, Ali MacGraw and Anna Sui, among others.
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