Outskirts Press, INC.

William F. “Bill” Smith, from small town Madison, Indiana, became a much sought-after designer of fine and costume jewelry, with a career spanning more than 40 years. Bill had his own experimental design firm, Smith St. Jacques, beginning in the mid-1950s. His bold, colorful designs were soon displayed on socialites, entertainers, and fashion critics. The first Black Vice President of costume jewelry house Richelieu, Bill had a contract to sign his name to his couture collection – a first in the industry. Thus, Bill Smith, t.j. (so as not to be confused with the clothing designer) was born. In 1968, Bill became famous for his outrageous “clothing” comprised of strings of faux pearls, chains, or faux coins worn over body stockings. During his career, Bill won multiple design awards including the coveted Coty in 1970. His work can be found in the permanent collections of several art museums, including The MET in New York City, and The History and Art Museum in Madison, IN. This book traces his journey from humble beginnings to bright star to relative obscurity – and will hopefully re-ignite an appreciation of Bill’s incredible designs.

Bill's first interview was in the November 1, 1959 Indianapolis Star when he went by “W. Franklin Smith” and was making a name for himself in the New York fine jewelry market.  A buyer for Henri Bendel had given Bill his first high fashion account soon to be followed by accounts with Lord & Taylor and The Tailored Woman. Bill also created one-of-a-kind pieces for his personal clients and was popular with wealthy socialites Charlotte Ford, Ethel Scull and Gloria Vanderbilt as well as performers Loretta Young, Lena Horne, and the opera singer Leontyne Price.

Bill's first appearance in Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) was on August 26, 1960 in a 4” x 1-1/2" column that introduced his design firm and extolled the quality of his materials and designs. WWD is considered the ultimate source of information in the fashion industry and the authority on trends and breaking news read by retailers, designers, marketers, manufacturers, advertising agencies, and trend setters. What began as a monthly update of his designs, complete with sketches, soon became a near-weekly occurrence. Bill was on his way to making his mark in the jewelry design world.

Bill's designs first apeared in the September, 1965 issue of Vogue in a small photo of a model wearing one of his rings. In November of the same year, Vogue gave him his first full page photo, showing model Marisa Berenson wearing his signature feather earrings.

By the end of his career, Bill’s designs were featured on seven fashion magazine covers, 128 full page images, thirty-three partial pages and four ads. That number does not include the more than six hundred newspaper articles and more than a hundred issues of Women’s Wear Daily that featured his work.