Hollywood’s most stunning costume jewellery

William de Lillo beaded fringe necklace

The Belgian-born William de Lillo worked at Tiffany, Cartier and Harry Winston in New York before teaming up with Miriam Haskell’s former head designer, Robert F Clark, in 1967. De Lillo’s early work – which included bold, beautiful pieces using colourful beads and rhodium-plated brass enhanced with fringes and tassels – was created in response to the counter-cultural movement then sweeping through America. Often aimed at men as well as women, his range included golden dog collars and chains to be worn in lieu of ties.

De Lillo was influenced by the fine jewellery of Jean Schlumberger, and made use of  sumptuous materials including angel skin coral, turquoise, pearls, lapis lazuli, rhinestones, and jade. He’d go on to create catwalk pieces for US couturiers such as Bill Blass and Norman Norrell, and eventually caught the eye of high society. For a time, he moved into creating exclusive pieces, such as this exquisite Mogul-inspired beaded fringe necklace, for wealthy women. His client list included Baroness de Rothschild, the Duchess of Windsor and Elizabeth Taylor. 

In 1976, De Lillo and Clark moved to France, and De Lillo designed for costume jewel pioneers Chanel and Schiaparelli, as well as Nina Ricci and Yves Saint Laurent.

Courtesy of Taschen

Wendy Gell pearl-and-crystal wedding necklace

Wendy Gell’s route to costume jewellery design was vastly different to her predecessors’. 

While working as a song writer in the early 1970s, she started looking for another creative way to make a living and came up with the idea of the “Wristy” cuff bracelet. Embellished with everything from vintage porcelain figures to fake pearls and crystals, these whimsical creations quickly gained popularity.

She went on to design catwalk pieces for Oscar de la Renta and Louis Dell’Olio before signing a contract with Disney to create a line of cartoon-character pieces including Roger Rabbit for Saks Fifth Avenue.   

Gell’s bold, brash aesthetic was perfectly suited to the 1980s and her one-of-a-kind pieces were collected by celebrities known for their outlandish style choices, including Elizabeth Taylor, Cher, Liberace, Elton John and Prince.

Costume Jewelry by Carol Woolton is published by Taschen on 18 September.

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