Shopping with. . . Jewelry Designer Kenneth Jay Lane

By Suzanne Singer
March 24, 2010

Kenneth Jay Lane is practically a jewelry institution. By offering cool and vintage-y glamorous pieces with a worldly appeal, he has made costume jewelry, once considered tacky, a playful wardrobe essential. Lane's current designs are sold at the finest department stores and boutiques, while his past-season and vintage pieces are not only coveted collectibles on eBay, but they are also often put up for auction at venerable houses like Sotheby's and Christie's. Celebrity fans—from Jackie O. and Audrey Hepburn to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Sarah Jessica Parker—have graced the glossies wearing his pieces since the '60s.

A 1954 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, Lane's first foray into fashion was with footwear, with stints designing at Delman and Christian Dior. An interest in and talent for rhinestone embellishments led him from shoes to jewelry. He opened Kenneth Jay Lane Designs in 1963, quickly developed an avid following and started selling to the best shops around the country. With business still thriving 40-plus years later, he opened his first proprietary boutique at the the famed Plaza Hotel in New York City in 2008.

Themes for the Kenneth Jay Lane Spring 2010 jewelry collection range from Art Deco to Urban Safari, Turquoise and Garden Party. Images provided by Kenneth Jay Lane.

While Lane's collection has expanded in recent years to include handbags, belts, sunglasses and hair accessories, it's core is still jewelry—widlly colorful, inlaid with enamel or stones, oversized, often inspired by Art Deco or animals (zebra, starfish, elephants, and snakes are recurring themes) and hugely popular with the Palm Beach set. Always statement-making, his pieces feel signature to the wearer, rather than part of a passing trend.

Asked by The Inside Source about what inspires his designs, Lane told us, “I don't design for the seasons; I just design whatever pleases me at the moment.”

Kenneth Jay Lane's eBay Picks Reflect His Design Inspirations and Favorite Items to Collect

1. New Glass Sea Creatures (buy it now price, $15.54) An avid world traveler, Lane finds treasures on his journeys that he often incorporates into his collections. “I am inspired by my travels and things I see in my every day life," Lane tells us. Trips to Venice, Italy, for example, have brought forth of octopus and sea creatures that have become the basis for his creations.

2. Assorted Seashells (buy it now price, $3) An avid collector who prefers to obtain items in their country of origin, Lane has a sort of global market in his home. He finds inspiration in "a Middle Eastern Bazaar or shells I pick up on the beach....”

3. Vintage Kimono (buy it now price, $61.75), 4. New Russian Nesting Dolls (buy it now price, $17), “I collect everything from vintage kimonos to Russian dolls to antique princely robes from India to antique furniture,” Lane says.

5. Antique French Chairs (buy it now price, $820), 6. Painted French Bergere Club Chair (buy it now price, $656) ,7. 19th Century Louis XVI Gilt Bronze Round Gueridon Table (buy it now price, $12,000) Lane specifically notes his passion for 17th and 18th century Boule chairs, French chairs and early 19th century English regency tables.

8. Vintage Leopard Print Coat (buy it now price, $175) “Many of the tiger print items I have seen and collected in India have inspired my animal designs,” Lane says, with one of his favorites being “a leopard coat made by Kashmir cottage industries.” Animals play a frequent role in his collections. “I have an amazing alligator collar necklace [from the Spring collection, pictured above] that is inspired by the success of my other animal collections.”

9. Art Deco book (buy it now price, $29.99) Despite the mercurial nature of the fashion world, every designer seems have a sort of trademark. “I am always into Art Deco—I think that it is classic and will never  die.”

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