Shaun Leane (jeweller)

Coiled Corset, 2004

In 1992, a year after completing his apprenticeship, a mutual friend introduced Leane to Lee Alexander McQueen, who was then studying at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.[8][9][10] The next year, after McQueen had graduated, he visited Leane at work, and was impressed by the traditional pieces Leane was working on, and appreciated his attention to detail. He asked Leane to create Victorian-style silver fob watch chains for his fourth post-college show, Highland Rape.[8][9] Working with McQueen was a departure for Leane, who, after training with precious metals and stones, was now working with brass, aluminum and sterling silver for McQueen's catwalk shows,[11] and had to teach himself new techniques to create the large finale pieces for McQueen's shows.[8]

Leane was soon working on eight shows a year for McQueen and Givenchy.[6] His designs for McQueen went from small jewels in the early shows (the watch chains in the 1995 Highland Rape collection, tusk earrings for the Spring/Summer 1996 show The Hunger) to larger and more avant-garde designs such as the spine skeleton corset for the Spring/Summer 1998 show Untitled.[11][12] His 1996 mouthpiece, titled Repression, was originally created for the 1997 McQueen Autumn-Winter collection, and chosen by Isabella Blow as part of a group of garments selected to represent fashions of 1997 in the Fashion Museum, Bath's Dress of the Year collection.[13]

Leane worked with McQueen on an African-inspired neckpiece worn by Björk on the cover of her 1997 album Homogenic. After creating that piece, McQueen asked Leane if he could create a similar piece to fit the entire torso.[2] And so for McQueen's Autumn/Winter 1999 catwalk show, The Overlook, Leane created the Coiled Corset, a form-encasing bodice created from coils of aluminum.[11][12][14] Artist Kees van der Graaf created a concrete cast of the body of model Laura Morgan, around which Leane created a metal corset inspired by the neck rings worn by Ndebele women.[12] Leane has since called the piece his highlight in working with McQueen,[11] and his most challenging project.[15] He spent 16 hours a day for 10 straight weeks creating it.[2][16]

For the 2001 Autumn/Winter show What a Merry Go Round, Leane had to teach himself taxidermy to create earrings of pheasant claws clutching Tahitian pearls. Later, Leane created star and moon headdresses for the Autumn/Winter 2007 show, In Memory of Elizabeth Howe, Salem, 1692, inspired by antique vintage Victorian brooches but designed to be worn as headdresses.[11][17]

Leane and McQueen worked together for over 17 years until McQueen's death in 2010.[11] Along with Anna Wintour, Suzy Menkes and Annabelle Nielson, Leane gave an address at the memorial service for McQueen on 20 September 2010.[18] A selection of over 30 pieces Leane created with McQueen were featured in the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York in 2011, later restaged at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London in 2015.[8][10][11]

In 1998, a buyer for Harvey Nichols approached Leane with a view to stocking his first collection. This led to Leane putting together his first commercial collections, which used elements from his work for McQueen.[4] In 1999, Leane founded Shaun Leane Jewellery, a company producing jewellery collections alongside his large-scale fashion pieces, combining traditional craftsmanship with modern design and computer-aided design techniques.[6][19]

Leane's signature style fuses his traditional goldsmith skills with the world of fashion. He takes inspiration from the art and fashion worlds, from history and nature, from romance in literature and poetry, combining his traditional goldsmith skills and early days restoring antiques from the Art Deco and Victorian periods with a fashion slant from his years working with McQueen.[19] Sotheby's described his jewellery as "antiques of the future."[20] As of 2020 Leane's designs are sold online and at major retailers in Britain, Europe, the Middle East and the United States.[17] Iconic Shaun Leane collections include Hooks and Talons, Cherry Blossom and Sabre.[3][11][21][22][23]

Ben Rowe joined the company after graduating with a Jewellery BA (Hons) from Sir John Cass School of Art. Progressing from the bench to designing collections, commissions and bespoke pieces alongside Leane, he was later named Creative Director in 2011. Rowe Left Shaun Leane in December 2016 to take on a new role as Design Director (Fashion) at Tiffany & Co.[24]

Leane has worked with Givenchy, Boucheron, De Beers, Bacardi and Clé de Peau Beauté.[5][6][25][26] Shaun Leane Jewellery has been acquired for the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York,[27] the Victoria and Albert Museum in London,[28] and the Fashion Museum, Bath. His fine jewellery has been worn by celebrities and artists including Björk, Daphne Guinness, Sam Taylor-Johnson, Elton John, Emma Watson, Kate Moss, Sarah Jessica Parker and the Hassanal Bolkiah.[3][15][19][29]

Leane collaborated with Boucheron on a necklace for the label's 150th anniversary in 2008. The necklace has delicate, blackened gold flowers set with white and brown diamonds and sapphires, which can open and close with hidden buttons. It was unveiled at a party at the Boucheron store in Mayfair, London.[25]

Leane was commissioned by Daphne Guinness to create Contra Mundum, also known simply as The Glove, a hand-crafted evening glove crafted from 1,000 grams of 18-carat white gold and set with 5,000 pave white diamonds. The Glove was presented by Jay Jopling in its debut at a private party in London in 2011.[30][31][32] It took Leane five years to create.[32] Contra Mundum was the inspiration behind the glove worn by The Countess (portrayed by Lady Gaga) in the FX horror anthology series American Horror Story: Hotel. Gaga was photographed wearing the original glove alongside Guinness on the cover of the January 2016 issue of V magazine.[33]

In 2011, Leane began working with jewellery house Asprey on two new collections, released in May 2012: The Woodland Collection, a series of nature-inspired fine charm jewellery, and The Fern Collection, a series of emerald, diamond and platinum rings, earrings and necklaces inspired by ferns.[26] A charms necklace from the Woodland Collection was worn by Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.[29]

In 2014, SHOWstudio presented SHOWcabinet, the first major exhibition of Leane's work.[19][34] It was held in gallery space owned by the photographer Nick Knight in 2014.[10] Leane created a butterfly brooch, which was displayed alongside a painting from Damien Hirst's butterfly painting series; feather hoop earrings displayed alongside a Philip Treacy hat; and an Aurora ring, inspired by the blues and greens of the aurora borealis, with bands of diamonds symbolizing shards of light crossing through, displayed alongside the work of light sculptor Ahn Chulyhan.[19]

Leane worked with Austrian cut lead glass producer Atelier Swarovski to create the 2015 nine-piece jewelry collection Swift.[35]

Leane's jewels have been worn by several members of the British Royal Family including Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex.[36][37] In 2019 Princess Beatrice of York and her fiancé Count Edoardo Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi broke with royal tradition when they announced their engagement by naming Leane as the designer of the ring, a detail that Buckingham Palace doesn't usually reveal.[38]

Typical of Leane's personal approach to his bespoke projects, the engagement ring was designed in close collaboration with Mapelli Mozzi, using an exceptional 2.5ct ethically sourced diamond from Botswana.[38] Leane explains, ‘the bespoke experience was a beautiful journey; from imagining the design with Edoardo to the crafting of the finished rings. Being able to incorporate both Edoardo and Princess Beatrice's characters into the design has resulted in a unique ring that represents their love and lives entwining.’ [39]

In an interview with Vogue's contribution jewellery director Carol Woolton, Leane reflects on the design, ‘it’s a fusion of Art Deco, which Edoardo loves, with Victorian elements for Beatrice. it’s a mixture of both eras and crafted to include personal messages so it’s entirely unique to them… That’s what makes a bespoke ring so memorable and important’.[40]

In 2016 Leane was commissioned by Grainger Plc in collaboration with Futurecity to design the balcony railings and gates across the façade of 21 Young Street - a London residential development in Kensington, designed by Assael Architecture.[41][42] This was Leane's debut into the architectural and public realm and one of the largest scale commissions in the UK by a jewellery designer.[42][43]

Unveiled in July 2018, Arbour is an extensive public artwork consisting of 36 balcony railings and two gates cast in phosphor bronze by British metalwork foundry Chris Brammall. Featuring 1,850 bronze sculpted leaves and three-dimensional branches, the entire piece weighs over four tonnes.[42] The building's façade is inspired by neighbouring Kensington Square and the greenery of the private garden.[43]

A replicate of the balcony is on permanent display in the metalwork gallery at the V&A Museum.[42][43][44]

On 4 December 2017, Leane's personal archive of couture jewellery was offered for auction by Sotheby's New York in conjunction with Kerry Taylor Auctions. Featuring over 45 bespoke pieces including iconic designs produced for Alexander McQueen, Daphne Guinness, Sarah Jessica Parker, Isabella Blow and Kate Moss, the auction showcased creations spanning over 20 years of Leane's work.[45] Several of the pieces had appeared in The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Victoria & Albert in their retrospective of Leane's work in 2011 and 2015, respectively.[46]

Notable pieces from the sale included the Skeleton Corset designed by Leane for McQueen's ‘Untitled’ collection, Spring-Summer 1998 and the Coiled Corset from ‘The Overlook’ collection, Autumn-Winter 1999–2000, both of which exceeded bidding expectations.[46]

In 2020, to coincide with the 21st anniversary of his eponymous jewellery house, Leane published an extensive monograph in collaboration with AAC Art Books.[47] Charting his 36 years as a designer-maker, the book also acts as a retrospective that provides an exciting new insight into Leane's collaboration with Lee Alexander McQueen through a collection of never-before-seen backstage photography by Ann Ray.[48] Leane explains, “Ann is a very tender photographer and she followed Lee around for 17 years. She shot every show backstage. And unbeknown to me, she was also following me... I spent three days in her showroom in Paris going through [her archive] and it was one of the most emotional experiences I’ve ever been through.” [49]

Other notable contributions include celebrated editorial photographs by Nick Knight and important catwalk and backstage images, documented by leading fashion photographers Robert Fairer and Chris Moore.[50] In an interview with Rachel Garrahan for Vogue.com Leane muses on the scenes captured, “I remember backstage before all of the shows, the camaraderie of every artist from hair and make-up to jewellery and fashion. We were all working together to make sure every look exceeded expectations. Even though there were moments of intense adrenalin, everything was driven by love, passion and creative freedom.”[47]

Also included are essays examining Leane's heritage and craft; collaborations with McQueen; and his modern jewellery designs. Penned respectively by independent fine jewellery specialist Joanna Hardy, curator of fashion at the V&A Claire Wilcox, and jewellery writer and historian Vivienne Becker.[51] Jeffrey Felner of the New York Journal of Books wrote, “Shaun Leane is a definitive example of the genre on every level. It dazzles, it provokes, it astounds, and it teaches you what can happen when you push yourself to perfection and beyond no matter what is asked of you or what you believe is expected of you.”[52]

A special edition was also released which includes a never-before-seen print by photographer Rob Rusling, who also collaborated with Leane on a series of images featured in the book that portray the Shaun Leane muse, the romantic warrior. ‘I always strive to evolve and look with a different perspective.’ Leane says. ‘I see collaboration as a beautiful evolving process; a large part of my career has been through collaborations. I like to work with new emerging talent and passing on ethos and energy that ‘nothing is impossible’ as it was taught to me by Lee Alexander McQueen.’ [53]