Kenneth Jay Lane – Fabulous Faker

[Pamela Hill Lappin]

The Fabulous Faker It’s not often you find a designer hawking his jewelry on QVC while at the same time showing his pieces in the jewelry department of Neiman Marcus, but then there has never been a designer quite like Kenneth Jay Lane (KJL). Famous (or infamous) for copying the styles of both fine and costume jewelry makers from Bulgari to Hattie Carnegie. His tony clients, who always could afford the real thing, often preferred to wear KJL’s fabulous fakes. KJL was the first to combine upscale with downscale that is so popular today. He even made it into a Lou Reed song “Sally Can’t Dance”. KJL, a popular escort for society women was known for his wit and self deprecation, even titling his autobiography “Faking It”. Kenneth Jay Lane is one of Madge’s all-time favorite jewelry designers. Kenneth Jay Lane’s fun memoir of his life in jewelry, co-authored with Harrice Simmons Miller SHOP OUR KJL COLLECTION Who Was Kenneth Jay Lane Born in 1930 in Detroit, KJL studied architecture at the University of Michigan then attended Rhode Island School of Design where he graduated in 1954. He moved to New York City shortly after graduation and quickly got a job as a layout assistant in Vogue’s art department. Within a year he was hired by Delman Shoes, one of the oldest designer footwear brands in the United States, as an assistant designer. Within a year he was on the move again, over to Christian Dior, also manufactured by Delman, to work as an assistant to Roger Vivier. As his reputation grew KJL also created shoe designs for Bill Blass, Norman Norell and Arnold Scaasi; all the while creating jewelry on the side. In fact it was Scaasi who prompted KJL to switch to jewelry design full-time when he requested earrings to match the buttons on a pair …

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