Last week, we noticed that the former costume designer for Game of Thrones, the Emmy Award winning Michele Clapton, had launched her own line of jewelry, including earrings, bracelets, and “neck sculptures,” all based on her own designs from the show. Not only is it some of the most high-end officially sanctioned merchandise from the series so far—even the swords don’t cost $2000—but it’s apparently an idea Clapton has had for a long time. It was just a matter of figuring out the logistics.
Speaking to Making Game of Thrones about the launch, she said that finding a way to produce a Game of Thrones jewelry line in the real world was a bit of a hurdle. The key was finding partners who already worked in producing and selling jewelry for the Earth-based market, instead of the Planetos-based one. “Costumes can be hard to adapt to contemporary, and the manufacturing is quite difficult. But Yunus and Eliza have so much knowledge of the fashion jewelry industry that it gave me the confidence to step over into that area. On my own I think it would have been too much.”
As for why they went with jewelry based on Daenerys Targaryen’s style, instead of, say, Margaery Tyrell’s or Sansa Stark’s, Clapton said it had to do with the fact that until the characters who spent their last six seasons on the continent of Westeros, Dany’s Essos-based stylings were “less period pieces.”
"There’s something about her character that appeals to so many people – men, women, young, old. And I thought the pieces I make for her translate to the aesthetic of modern women. I also quite like that they’re not exclusively for women, men can wear some of these pieces. There are other characters we may later work on, but Yunus and Eliza worked primarily with me on Dany’s pieces in the show, so for many reasons she was a good place to start."
Although the gorgeous, gigantic neck sculptures are the eye-catching pieces of the collection, Clapton also created smaller, less obtrusive pieces for those who cannot unfurl their dragon wings to their full extension at the next board meeting, lest they accidentally knock the business suits out of a fourteenth story window with their fabulousness.
"We tried to make smaller pieces so you can express your inner-khaleesi without actually having to have a great, big necklace on. There’s some beautiful little pieces; my favorite is a little dragon wrap ring. It’s really subtle, but really nice to wear, and incredibly light, even though it’s sterling silver. I like the cuff we made, because it’s really comfortable, and I love the way it just wraps around the wrist. And the little wing earrings are incredibly elegant. So they stand alone, you don’t think, “Oh why have you got Khaleesi’s jewelry on?” You don’t have to be noisy about the pieces. You can shout about it or whisper it."
She promises that there are more lines to come—she and her partners have already started focusing on the next character—although she’s not giving away who just yet.
Also, although she may have walked away from her lead designer role on the show, she’s still involved with the production, and hints that she may be doing special costuming commissions for Season 7, the way she did for the Season 6 finale. “They’re all moving around a bit, and that’s quite interesting. If before we’ve seen them in one climate, now we may be seeing them in another. That has quite a big impact on how their costumes look.”
With Dany arriving in Westeros in time for winter and snow coming south, could we perhaps see the Queen of Meereen in Stark-style fur capes? Could Cersei find herself bundling up in pieces that would not be that far removed from what you might seen worn at the Wall? Only time will tell.