Kenneth Jay Lane was born in Detroit in 1930 and began his career in the mid-1950s in New York.
In 1963, Lane opens his own company and the costume jewelry of his design quickly becomes a real hit.
In 1965, Vogue magazine was published, whose face was the famous German actress and model in huge Kenneth Jay Lane earrings made of lightweight plastic brand KJL: a real boom in large jewelry began, which lasted until the early 1970s. Kenneth Lane realized that jewelry was his true calling and created his first debut collection. The master himself called it midnight, as he worked on sketches at night, in his free time from his main activity – it was then that he headed Christian Dior Shoes. Lane’s undoubted talent for creating chic “fake” copies of precious jewelry has also become a trademark of his brand.
No wonder he called his autobiographical story “Fake”. His designs, copied from high end jewelry, became very popular. His clients proudly wore faux jewelry. Jacqueline Kennedy, for example, was one of those who ordered counterfeit jewelry from Lane in order to wear them more freely while keeping valuable originals in a safe.
The designer died on July 20, 2017 at the age of 85. For 55 years of his life, he has been creating masterpieces of “costume jewelry” in a variety of styles and for a wide variety of audiences: from royals, presidents’ wives, socialites to customers in the “shop on the couch”.
Jewerly by Kenneth jay lane
