Shaun Leane is to jewelry what Arthur Rimbaud was to poetry, Pablo Picasso to 20th-century art, Marlon Brando to the acting world….at least, that’s what the Delphic figures of high-fashion would have you believe. Sotheby’s, London’s leading auction house, has honoured his work with the epithet ‘antiques of the future’ while Alexander McQueen considers him a virtuoso of the art-form, collaborating with him for over 15 years to create some of the most iconic pieces to ever grace the female form.
Now celebrating his company’s 10th anniversary, Shaun has twice been a winner of the UK Jewellery Designer of the year. Some of his designs are now instantly recognisable as jaw-dropping, ‘I want one of those’ signature pieces like the jewel-encrusted interlocking rings and the hard-edged silver designs that are instant show-stoppers on catwalks from Paris to Miami. Then there are the tusk-like mouthpieces, moonstone-studded crescents, enamel heart lockets sheathed in gold thorn and lily-shaped Art Nouveau rings – all born from his fascination with ‘love and pain’, macabre statements that have been noticed, appreciated and increasingly esteemed by first London and then the world’s elite.
Moving away from the darkly romantic twilight regions (the Luna collection is all luminous light and shimmering surface contour) and alighting on lighter, more traditional shores, his latest offering is inspired by Japanese fairytales and features dazzling white and crimson flowers on delicate coils of silver branch. The magnum opus of the ‘Cherry Blossom’ collection is his own personal favourite, a modern-day hieroglyph of three cherry blossoms in different stages of bloom. Right now his muse is the tailored suit and navy patent shoe – how he can evoke love and pain from that couplet is anyone’s guess.
New Shaun Leane collections include: Aurora, Gypsy Moth, Luna, Cherry Blossom and Sabre. For more information and to view, visit www.shaunleane.com.
