Lynn Ban, the jewelry designer and a beloved member of the New York City fashion scene, passed away unexpectedly on Monday following a ski accident in Aspen on Christmas Eve. Her son announced the sad news on her Instagram account, writing: “Many of you followed my mum but never got the chance to know her or meet her in person. She was and always will be my best friend, the best mother to me, and someone who cared for all. She always had a smile on her face even when times were tough during her recovery process. She was a fighter until the end and is the strongest woman I know.”
Beyoncé wore a suite of Lynn Ban pieces in her 2018 Vogue editorial.
Ban launched her namesake jewelry collection in 2011, and it quickly became a favorite of pop icons because of its unique rebellious and rock-and-roll vibe. Lightning-bolt earrings covered in grey and white pavé diamonds, rings and cuffs that coiled like opulent snakes around fingers and arms—her signature piece was an articulated ring that completely covered the finger all the way to the nail, playfully blurring the line between woman and robot. Rihanna was often spotted in Ban’s jewelry and eventually tapped her to design a collaboration for her Fenty x Puma collections. The multihyphenate star even took to calling Ban her “fairy godmother.” In 2013, when Beyoncé surprise dropped her now legendary self-titled visual album, Ban’s pieces featured heavily among the star’s perfectly curated looks for each song. (Those are her stacked rings in “Haunted” and “Superpower.”) She chose Ban’s pieces again in 2016 for “Formation” and in 2019 for her “Spirit” video. Gisele, Madonna, Megan Thee Stallion, Doja Cat, and Cardi B were also frequently spotted in her creations, and she was beloved by fashion editors who frequently pulled her pieces for their shoots when they needed accessories that quickly signaled to the world that their wearers were tough, unapologetic, and unafraid of the world.
In 2023, Ban was part of the cast of Netflix’s Bling Empire: New York, where she quickly became a fan favorite thanks to her fabulous fashion sense and exuberant and joyful personality that did not suffer fools gladly. She will be missed.
