Couture favourites from a connoisseur of costume jewellery: inside the fabulous collection of Susie Hoimes

Susie Hoimes has always been a collector at heart. Born in Kenya to British parents, she remembers gathering shells on the beaches of Mombasa, inspired by her father, a doctor who amassed various collections in the house over the years. In her early travels to Iran, East Africa, England, and later the United States, she scoured flea markets for antiques and anything exciting. ‘When you travel, it exposes you to all kinds of cultures,’ she tells Christie’s. ‘And over time you develop an eye and an appreciation for how all these influences have shaped style around the world.’

Today Hoimes is one of the fashion industry’s preeminent experts on couture costume jewellery. Recommended by Vogue and frequented by celebrities, her San Francisco shop, MDVII, which operated from 1990 to 2021, became a global destination for collectors of vintage and archival pieces by important designers like Chanel, Dior, Pierre Cardin and Yves Saint Laurent. From 26 November to 11 December, an impressive selection of her favourite pieces spanning nearly every decade since the 1920s comes to Christie’s. The Susie Hoimes Collection: The Art of Costume Jewellery will be sold in Handbags Online: The New York Edit.

‘Susie’s knowledge and experience guided every selection in this truly exceptional grouping of fashion jewels, which Christie’s is proud to bring to market,’ says Max Brownawell, Head of Handbags and Accessories at Christie’s New York. From rare 1930s Chanel haute couture works to a geometric bib necklace from Karl Lagerfeld’s last collection for Chanel in 2019, every piece in the collection is offered without reserve.

Pieces that tell the history of costume jewellery

Costume jewellery, typically characterised by bold designs made with non-precious metals and stones, emerged in the 1700s when glass and later rhinestones were used in place of gems. In the 1920s, the trend reached new heights when fashion couturiers began producing their own designs that elevated the art form. Coco Chanel paved the way when she introduced trousers for women and chose to pair them with bold strands of imitation pearls.

Coco Chanel frequently collaborated with Suzanne Gripoix of Maison Gripoix, famed for their poured glass jewellery. A highlight of the upcoming sale is a 1930s blue and green Gripoix glass, Strass crystal and faux pearl statement necklace by Chanel, which Hoimes acquired from her friend, the collector Susan Kelner Freeman. Hoimes knew this rare piece would sell in the shop immediately but chose to keep it for her personal collection. ‘People are always coming up to me to ask about it,’ she says. Another gem from this period is a 1935 red Gripoix glass and Venetian bead Mughal necklace by Chanel — a similar piece resides in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Statement jewellery became a staple of runway shows and fashion editorials, as more designers introduced their own costume pieces, including Dior in 1948 and Yves Saint Laurent in 1962. Hoimes was drawn to standout 1950s Dior pieces by Roger Jean-Pierre, like the offered opaline turquoise glass and Strass crystal necklace and earring demi-parure, as well as mid-century pieces by famed American costume jeweller Miriam Haskell.

In 1965 came Pierre Cardin, who paired his iconic space-age dresses with oversized shiny-chrome statement necklaces. An important red plexiglass choker by Cardin from 1971 is offered in the sale. Similar examples appeared in the landmark exhibition Pierre Cardin: Future Fashion at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in 2019. The 1970s were further defined by the intricate pieces of YSL in collaboration with Robert Goossens.

Throughout the 20th century, Chanel continued to reinvent the art form, from Victoire de Castellane’s cross pendants in the 1980s to Karl Lagerfeld’s reimagining of classic Chanel motifs into the 2000s.

In 1998, John Galliano, newly at the helm of Dior, released the beaded Maasai necklace, inspired by the elaborate sculptural beadwork worn on the necks of the Kenyan tribe. ‘This is when Dior jewellery went from pretty to powerful. It’s from an important moment in time when Galliano was transforming Dior into his fantasy,’ says Brownawell. First appearing on the runway in the Spring/Summer 1997 Haute Couture Collection, the piece immediately became a favourite amongst the fashion crowd, worn by celebrities including Rihanna and Gwenyth Paltrow. Hoimes’s collection includes one of these coveted chokers in black.

Jewels that are meant to be loved and worn

Hoimes recalls the excitement of opening her shop in the Russian Hill neighbourhood of San Francisco in 1990. ‘There was no shortage of fabulous things on the market,’ says Hoimes, who sourced pieces through friends and her travels, including stops at estate sales across the globe.

For Hoimes, the beauty of these pieces is that they are meant to be loved and worn, rather than kept in a safe. ‘People often say, “I can’t wear it, it’s too big”, but it’s all a question of attitude,’ she says. ‘I’m five foot three. I wear it all — it makes even the simplest dress fabulous.’ For Hoimes, costume jewellery is fundamentally accessible, a belief reflected in her decision to offer the pieces without reserve, inviting collectors at every level a chance to own these distinctive works.