NEW YORK — Robert Lee Morris goes way back with Andy Warhol.
The 59-year-old jeweler is a Warhol devotee and even opened his first retail venture in 1977 — Artwear on 74th Street and Madison Avenue, near where Warhol was then planning on opening his Andy Mat restaurant — in hopes of hobnobbing with the artist. Although the restaurant never did open, Warhol eventually inducted Morris into his infamous clique, which included Liza Minnelli and Stephen Sprouse. Now Morris is returning the favor by introducing two jewelry lines based on his mentor.
“Andy was a hero and a peer,” said Morris, who collaborated with the artist on covers of Interview magazine, which Warhol edited. “He would be so happy [that I’m doing this]. It’s a dream come true to him. He would always say, ‘I wish I had the time to make jewelry.’ He loved jewelry — he was a freak for it.”
The collections are divided by price and materials. The Andy Warhol by Robert Lee Morris line is made with silver and will retail for $60 to $900. Styles include famous Warhol icons like the dollar sign, Pop Art flowers and logos such as Brillo. The Factory X collection will retail from $1,000 up to $10,000 and uses materials such as 18-karat gold and diamonds, with an emphasis on one-of-a-kind and limited-edition pieces.
Warhol-mania has crept into the fashion lexicon again. In addition to Barneys New York celebrating the artist in its holiday windows, the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts has given out several licenses recently, including Seiko for fashion watches and Levi’s for jeans.
Inspiration for the jewelry collections was vast, according to Morris, who has not yet shown either to retailers, although the firm is aiming for major department stores for the lower-priced line and upscale specialty stores for the higher-priced one. The collections are slated to bow at retail in February.
The Warhol collection is a departure from the flagship brand’s organic and earthy jewelry with hand-hammered hoop earrings and oxidized metal necklaces. But Morris, who often sells his wares on QVC, has previously dabbled in licenses. Robert Lee Morris, which is co-owned by M. Fabrikant & Sons and Clover Corp., also holds the jewelry licenses to Warner Bros. and DC Comics.