SHAUN’S SHOWCASE: The personal collection of British jewelry designer Shaun Leane is set to go under the hammer at Sotheby’s New York in December.
The designer said the collection represents “a level of creative freedom that has no parallel today and a time when jewelry, performance art and fashion fused as one. It has prompted questions in my own mind as to the important role the collection still has to play in conversations surrounding the relationship between these vital creative industries.”
He’s hoping the auction will address the questions he asked himself when making the jewels: “Is it art? Is it fashion? Is it jewelry?”
The sale is part of the auction house’s “A Life of Luxury” series, and will see 45 bespoke pieces thrust under the spotlight. Leane made the pieces for Alexander McQueen, his old friend and colleague of 17 years, for the latter’s shows and for Givenchy, and for clients such as Daphne Guinness, Isabella Blow, Kate Moss and Sarah Jessica Parker.
Highlights include the coiled corset from McQueen’s The Overlook collection for fall 1999 to 2000 that took its cue from the film “The Shining.” It was created with 97 aluminum coils. There is also a silver crown of thorns headpiece from McQueen’s Dante collection from fall/winter 1996 and 1997. There is also a silver Thistle brooch worn by Sarah Jessica Parker to the Metropolitan Museum of Art Gala in 2006, and a Tusk anklet designed for Isabella Blow in 1987.
The collection will be open to the public for viewing on Nov. 30, while the sale will be held in association with Kerry Taylor Auctions on Dec. 4. The lots range in price from $2,000 to $400,000.
