Iconic costume jewelry designer, Kenneth Jay Lane, died in NYC at age 85 on July 20th.
We are so sad to say, Kenneth Jay Lane, legendary costume jewelry designer has died at 85 years old at his NYC apartment on July 20th. Kenneth has such an iconic history in the fashion industry and his designs have graced some of the most important women including Princess Diana, Audrey Hepburn, Lady Gaga, Elizabeth Taylor, and many others. We are heartbroken over the news.
Kenneth has had such a long and well-respected career in the fashion industry and he started his journey at University of Michigan and then Rhode Island School of Design. From then on, he worked for Roger Vivier at Christian Dior, before he branched out and started his very own costume jewelry line. His gorgeous pieces of jewelry were worn by some of the most iconic women Jacqueline Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Diana Vreeland, Len Horne, Elizabeth Taylor, the Duchess of Windsor, Princess Diana, Nancy Reagan, and many more.
We love that Kenneth was such a trailblazer and did whatever he wanted. In an interview he did with our sister site, WWD, last month, he said, “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…” What an amazingly talented guy! The fashion industry will definitely miss such an amazing man and designer.
If you want to learn more about the iconic jewelry designer, you can get a first-hand account of his life from his memoir, ‘Kenneth Jay Lane: Faking It,’ which was published in 1996.
