From Downton to Gatsby: Jewellery and Fashion from 1890-1929
From Downton to Gatsby: Jewellery and Fashion from 1890-1929
Lecturer: Andrew Prince
For the series and film Downton Abbey, Andrew Prince was commissioned to make many jewels for the main characters and this inspired him to create a talk based on this unique period. Jewellery and Fashion are often seen as two entirely separate and distinct fields of design, but this is very far from the case. In his talk, Andrew guides you through the extraordinary decades and events between 1890 and 1929, where the great couturiers collaborated with the finest of jewellers to produce jewels and clothes of outstanding quality and glittering opulence. Along with this, he illustrates the clients and patrons who commissioned the jewels and shows how they were worn with their sumptuous gowns.
Andrew Prince has had a passion for jewellery since he was a small child. The very first piece of jewellery he created was a ring made of copper wire pulled from the back of a television. He presented it to his grandmother (it turned her finger green and gave her a rash). He then created a necklace for his mother using beads taken off her wedding dress (she was not at all happy). In 1987 Andrew started work with The Antiques Roadshow expert Ian Harris and later the renowned contemporary jeweller Elizabeth Gage. He soon realised that beautiful jewellery didn’t require expensive stones, and that it was the elegance of the design and the quality of the workmanship that truly mattered. Private commissions from celebrities such as Michael Jackson and Shirley Bassey followed as did a V&A commission for a collection of jewels to accompany the resplendent Tiaras, Past and Present exhibition. The exposure gained by the show then led to Andrew’s jewellery appearing in the film Mrs Henderson Presents starring Judi Dench and The Young Victoria starring Emily Blunt and Miranda Richardson. In 2012, he was chosen by the creators of Downton Abbey to supply a large collection of jewellery for the third series. The characters played by Maggie Smith, Shirley MacLaine, Elizabeth McGovern and Michelle Dockery were all adorned with elegant tiaras, combs, earrings and necklaces designed and created by Andrew Prince