Lynn Ban (simplified Chinese: 万爱萍; traditional Chinese: 萬愛萍;[1][2][3] May 27, 1972 – January 20, 2025) was a Singaporean jewelry designer who was noted for her unconventional designs.[4][5] She starred in Bling Empire: New York, a reality show on Netflix.[6][7] Her clients included Rihanna and Beyoncé.[8] Other musical artists who wore her statement pieces included Billie Eilish, Cardi B, Doja Cat, Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Madonna, Megan Thee Stallion, Nicki Minaj, Post Malone, and many others.[9][10][11]
Lynn Ban | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
万爱萍 | |||||||
 Ban in 2013 | |||||||
| Born | May 27, 1972 | ||||||
| Died | January 20, 2025 (aged 52) New York City, U.S. | ||||||
| Known for | Jewelry design Vintage couture | ||||||
| Television | Bling Empire: New York | ||||||
| Spouse | Jett Kain | ||||||
| Children | 1 | ||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 万爱萍 | ||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 萬愛萍 | ||||||
| |||||||
| Website | lynnban | ||||||
Vogue described her jewelry collection as "a favorite of pop icons because of its unique rebellious and rock-and-roll vibe", often featuring in fashion shoots to signal "that their wearers were tough, unapologetic, and unafraid of the world".[9] Recurring motifs in her edgy jewelry pieces included ancient armor, beetles, bullets, crosses, handcuffs, razors, thorns, and sickle blades.[10][12]
Early life and education
editBorn in Singapore, Lynn Ban first moved to the United States at age 4.[10] At the time, her father David Ban was a banker at Chase Manhattan Bank.[13] Her mother Patricia Ban was a former secretary.[13] She also had a younger sister.[13] Their family moved every few years and lived in cities around the world, returning to Singapore briefly when Lynn was in her teens.[13]
Ban credited her mother, a certified gemologist, for nurturing her interest in fashion from a young age with shopping trips to Bloomingdale's and Club 21.[13][14] She studied art history and literature at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University,[13] and went on to study French literature and art history at Cornell University.[15] She also spent two years at Sorbonne University in Paris.[15]
After graduating, Ban opened a Genki Sushi franchise in midtown Manhattan with Jett Kain as her business partner in 1998.[16][15][17] It was the chain's first foray in to the United States; her father had launched Genki Sushi in Singapore and Hong Kong.[16][15] During this period in the late 1990s, she was a collector of both vintage and contemporary fashion for her personal library.[17][14] She sold the New York restaurant franchise after the 2001 World Trade Center attack.[15]
Career
editBan started her professional career in fashion as a curator of vintage couture for Barneys New York.[5] In 2002, she launched Lynn Ban Vintage at Barneys, selling vintage fashions from Chanel, Valentino, and Yves Saint Laurent.[13][15] She also did pop-ups of Lynn Ban Vintage at Harvey Nichols in London, as well as Celux, a private members' club in the Louis Vuitton Building in Tokyo.[10][15]
Lynn Ban Jewelry
editIn 2011, Lynn Ban launched her eponymous jewelry line.[13] Her first collection was distributed by Barneys, Dover Street Market, Matches Fashion, Maxfield, and Net-a-Porter.[10] Retailer Club 21 in Singapore started stocking her jewelry pieces in 2012.[18] One of her most iconic pieces included the sculpted silver Armor ring, worn stacked to resemble armor.[18] [12] Another signature piece was her Gash cuff made of black rhodium with diamonds embedded to resemble a jagged wound.[18]
Her big break was when pop star Rihanna wore a cuff designed by Ban while performing on American Idol in 2012.[13][15] Rihanna became a celebrity champion for Ban's jewelry, and was often spotted wearing her pieces in music videos, on tour, and in public appearances.[13][9] Commissioned to create jewelry for Rihanna to wear in her W magazine photo shoot in 2016, Ban designed a claw armor ring that she compared to a weapon, in keeping with the issue's "baddest bitch of the post-apocalypse" theme.[19][20]
Ban collaborated with her on custom jewelry for Rihanna's Fenty x Puma collection, which debuted in 2016.[21] In February 2018, The Adventurine called out Fenty x Puma for "the coolest jewelry" at New York Fashion Week, noting Rihanna's collaboration with Ban on "the collection of big, bold colorful baubles, that also maintained a sporty vibe".[22] They became close, with Rihanna referring to Ban as her "fairy godmother".[9][23][24] When asked what type of woman inspired her, Ban cited Rihanna, saying, "She's my type: empowered, strong, and dangerous."[12]
Ban's jewelry featured in Beyoncé's 2013 visual album, Beyoncé.[9] Memorable pieces designed by Ban included the stacked rings worn in "Haunted" and "Superpower".[9] Beyoncé wore Ban again in the videos for the singles "Formation" (2016) and "Spirit" (2018).[9]
Ban debuted a line of handbags in 2018.[25] One of the first handbags was a limited-edition evening minaudière featuring a heavy gold bullion bar and doubling as a necklace.[25][15] Another miniaudière in the line was described by Ban as a "Swarovski crystal-encrusted Ziggy lightning bolt".[15]
During the global COVID-19 pandemic, she scaled back her jewelry business to focus only on private clients, and planned to relaunch it following Bling Empire: New York.[10]
Bling Empire: New York
editIn 2021, Ban was approached by producer Jeff Jenkins to appear in Bling Empire: New York, a spin-off of the Netflix hit reality TV series Bling Empire.[13] She agreed to join the cast, which included fashion stylist and influencer Tina Leung and Singaporean Kane Lim.[10][13] Initially cautious, she told Women's Wear Daily that she took the opportunity to "represent Asian career women" and counter the "stereotype of Crazy Rich Asians".[10]
Shooting took place between January and March 2022, with cameras filming Ban's every move.[13] During the series, she dressed in dramatic designer ensembles, exclusively from her extensive personal collection of couture.[14] Ban made her television debut wearing a "spectacular" black leather dress covered in long spiky needles, created by Noir Key Ninomiya.[14]
The show also featured footage of Ban's debut party for her ready-to-wear resort collection, featuring clothing made by local artisans in Bali.[26] The collection was a partnership with COMO Hotels and Resorts, which carried the line at 12 resort shops in locations such as Bali, The Maldives, Parrot Cay, and Phuket.[26][10]
Personal life and death
editBan was married to Jett Kain, a former MTV producer and creator of the first VH1 Fashion and Music Awards, who was her business partner.[13][14] They had a son.[13] She lived in Tribeca in Manhattan.[27]
Ban was in a skiing accident in the Aspen Highlands on December 24, 2024, and underwent an emergency craniotomy after a CT scan revealed a brain bleed.[28][29] On December 30, 2024, she shared photos of herself in the hospital on Instagram, explaining that she had "face planted" on a ski slope while wearing a helmet, and wrote, "And in the blink of an eye ... life can change."[30]
According to an Instagram post by her son three weeks later, Ban died on January 20, 2025.[31] Her husband found her unconscious and unresponsive that afternoon at their home in New York City.[32][27] She was 52 years old.[4][33][34]
References
edit- ^ "曾参加《璀璨帝国》 新加坡珠宝设计师万爱萍滑雪意外身亡". www.zaobao.com.sg (in Simplified Chinese).
- ^ "《璀璨帝國》亞裔女星Lynn Ban滑雪意外身亡 Rihanna留言哀悼". Yahoo News (in Chinese). January 23, 2025.
- ^ "《璀璨帝国：纽约篇》LYNN BAN的超狂背景". NUYOU SINGAPORE《女友》 – 最时尚中文杂志 (in Simplified Chinese). February 15, 2023.
- ^ a b "Lynn Ban, Jewelry Designer and 'Bling Empire' Star, Dies at 52". New York Times. January 24, 2025 [January 22, 2025]. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ a b Beker, Jeanne (May 21, 2016). "Put a ring on it; Jewellery designer Lynn Ban on adorning some of music's most powerful women". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved January 23, 2025 – via Gale General OneFile.
- ^ "Lynn Ban: Star of reality show Bling Empire dies after skiing accident". Sky News. January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ "Singaporean star of Netflix show Bling Empire dies". BBC News. January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ "Lynn Ban dies at 51: the Bling Empire: New York star and jewellery designer had emergency brain surgery after a skiing accident". South China Morning Post. Tribune News Service. January 23, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Garcia-Furtado, Laia (January 23, 2025). "Remembering Lynn Ban—and the Lavish Jewelry She Made". Vogue. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Socha, Miles (October 2022). "Lynn Ban Brings Career Angle To Netflix's 'Bling Empire'". WWD: Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2025 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ Ortiz, Aimee; Sidell, Misty White (January 24, 2025). "Lynn Ban, Jewelry Designer and 'Bling Empire' Star, Dies at 52". The New York Times. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c Lacava, Stephanie (2014). "LYNN BAN". Interview. Vol. 44, no. 3. p. 58. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Lim, Louisa (November 25, 2024). "Meet Lynn Ban, stylish and charismatic Singaporean in Netflix series Bling Empire: New York". The Straits Times. Retrieved January 24, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Cambe, Pameyla (May 16, 2023). "Lynn Ban on '90s fashion, life after 'Bling Empire', and how to have fun". Tatler Asia. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Lim, Lionell (August 30, 2018). "How Fashion Fiend Lynn Ban Got Rihanna To Wear Her Jewellery". Prestige. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ a b Stevens, Kimberly (April 5, 1998). "PULSE; A Movable Sushi Feast". The New York Times. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ a b La Ferla, Ruth (1998). "This Is the Style Addicts' Must-Have of the Moment". Elle. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ a b c Lim, Leslie Kay (September 1, 2014). "Singaporean Lynn Ban's edgy jewellery is worn by stars such as Rihanna and Beyonce". The Straits Times. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Garrahan, Rachel (May 17, 2017). "In a Time of Stress, Jewelry Becomes Armor". The New York Times. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
- ^ Klein, Steven; Enninful, Edward (August 2, 2016). "Rihanna: Baddest Bitch of the Post-Apocalypse in W's September Cover". W Magazine. Retrieved January 27, 2025.
- ^ Matera, Avery (February 13, 2016). "Rihanna Shows Her First Collection at NYFW: Fenty x Puma". Glamour. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Fasel, Marion (2018). "The Cool Jewels In Rihanna's Fenty x Puma". The Adventurine. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Dosani, Rishma (January 22, 2025). "Rihanna leads heartbreaking tributes after Bling Empire: New York star Lynn Ban dies aged 51". Metro. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ Coffey-Behrens, Kelly (January 23, 2025). "Rihanna Breaks Silence On Lynn Ban's Tragic Death". Y!Entertainment. Retrieved January 25, 2025.
- ^ a b Tietjen, Alexa (June 27, 2018). "Lynn Ban Expands Beyond Jewelry: The jeweler to stars like Rihanna and Beyoncé opens up about her debut line of handbags". WWD: Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved January 23, 2025 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ a b Waller, Thomas (2022). "Lynn Ban Debuts Rtw With Downtown Fete". WWD: Women's Wear Daily. Retrieved January 25, 2025 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ a b Feitelberg, Rosemary (January 22, 2025). "'Bling Empire' Star and Designer Lynn Ban Dies in New York City". WWD. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
- ^ "'Bling Empire: New York' Star Lynn Ban Reveals Christmas Eve Emergency Craniotomy 'Saved My Life'". The Wrap. December 30, 2024. Retrieved January 23, 2025 – via Gale General OneFile.
- ^ "Bling Empire: New York's Lynn Ban Dead at 54". Vulture. January 22, 2025. Retrieved January 23, 2025 – via Gale General OneFile.
- ^ Shultz, Cara Lynn (December 30, 2024). "'Bling Empire: New York' Star Lynn Ban Has Emergency Brain Surgery Following Ski Accident: 'Last Thing I Remember Is Being Intubated.'". People.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025 – via EBSCOhost.
- ^ Johns, Gibson (January 22, 2025). "Bling Empire: New York Star Lynn Ban Dead at 51 after undergoing Brain Surgery". E! News. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ Sanchez, Rosa (January 22, 2025). "Bling Empire Star Lynn Ban Has Died, One Month After Suffering a Skiing Accident". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved January 28, 2025.
- ^ Travis, Emlyn (January 22, 2025). "Lynn Ban, Bling Empire: New York star and jewelry designer, dies at 52 following ski accident". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved January 26, 2025.
- ^ Brunner, Raven (January 22, 2025). "Lynn Ban, Bling Empire: New York Star, Dies at 52 After Undergoing Brain Surgery". People.com. Retrieved January 26, 2025.