This full color book is an excellent reference for costume jewelry lovers and collectors. While this first edition is by no means a complete representation of Bill’s designs, it is the first catalog of Bill’s work and the most comprehensive look at his life and career to date. Nearly 300 photographs, 10 editorial fashion photographs (out of more than the 200 that featured his work) and dozens of advertisements serve to authenticate Bill’s designs.
William Franklin, “Bill”, Smith came from humble beginnings in small town Madison, Indiana and became a successful fine and costume jewelry designer. After three semesters at Indiana University as a Fine Arts major, Bill moved to New York to pursue a dance career. However, there were limited roles for Black dancers in the early 1950s, so he turned to jewelry design to make a living. Soon, he was being sought after by socialites, performers, and fashionistas alike for his frequently outrageous, over-the-top designs. Ethel Scull, Charlotte Ford, Loretta Young, Lena Horne, and Leontyne Price were among his famous clients. Bill was fond of using alternative materials, such as items found in hardware stores and nature, “You can use anything you want – but don’t make it look like what it is – give it another dimension”. His Russian gold-plated gas pipe bracelet was a piece photographed in several fashion magazines throughout his career. In 1968, as the first Black Vice President of Richelieu, and the first designer to put his name on a collection, Bill created jewelry “clothing” made of pearls, chains, or faux coins. Models wearing his daring designs strutted the runway in a 1969 segment of the Today Show with Barbara Walters in August,1969. His oversized brooches, necklaces and earrings in bright, bold jewel tones have a decidedly masculine feel to them. Bill collaborated with fashion designers Jon Haggins, Arthur McGee, Mr. Mort, Scott Barrie, and others to create signature accessories for their collections.
Bill Smith, t.j. (for “the jeweler” so as not to be confused with the clothing designer) won several prestigious design awards including the Swarovski Great Designs in Costume Jewelry award in 11967 and the coveted Coty Award in 1970. Bill designed nearly 200 pieces of jewelry for the Broadway production of Coco, starring Katharine Hepburn. Bill was also selected to create the crown for the Miss Black America pageant, which was worn by winners from 1968-1975.
Bill Smith’s designs are in the permanent collections of the Jefferson County History and Art Museum in Madison, Indiana, The MET in New York City, The Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University, Bloomington, and the Yale University Art Collection.