On 25 August 1968 Alexis Bittar was born in Brooklyn, New York.
Alexis Bittar launched his eponymous jewelry collections in the early ’90s; but the Brooklyn native’s artistic flair was evident long before then. As a child, Bittar accompanied his parents to flea markets, where they collected and sold rare antiques and collectables. At the tender age of 10, Bittar showed his entrepreneurial spirit by selling flowers from a hand-painted cart across the street from his house.
While attending high school at the Bronx School of Science in 1983, Alexis soon got a taste for the city life and subsequently discovers the NYC club scene. His interest rapidly turns to fashion and design when his attendance at seminal night clubs Danceteria and area become more frequent than his classes at school. Despite his rapidly dwindling attendance at school, Alexis graduated and enrolled for his freshman year of college in upstate New York. By the time his second semester begun, Alexis dropped out and returns to the city to party hard; making his money selling antique jewelry and vintage clothing on the street of lower Manhattan.
Show Full
At age of 22, Alexis decided to put his scandalous clubbing days to rest in order to focus on designing his own line of costume jewelry, influenced by the antique collectables he grew up around. He begun hand carving his Lucite collection from within the confines of his one bedroom apartment while simultaneously creating a second line, made from semi-precious stones and metals.
Alexis relocated from Saint Mark’s Place to New York City’s Soho neighborhood in 1991, selling his one of kind wares on the corner of Prince and Greene Streets.
Despite the minimalist trend of the early 1990s, Bittar’s bold and colorful designs begun to rapidly take flight. Bittar is soon discovered by dawn mello-fashion director of Bergdorf Goodman, who offers the budding designer his first steps into the world of retail in 1992.
In 1993 Bittar attended his first trade show, opening his link to a national market and sparks a long-standing relationship with Saks Fifth Avenue.
International interest increases and Bittar begins to export overseas to Harrod’s in London and Isetan in Japan in 1994.
In 1996 Bittar was asked to design an exclusive collection of Lucite and stainless steel furniture for the Cooper Hewitt Museum, as well as a highly acclaimed line of limited edition home decor pieces for Barneys New York and Takashimaya.
Two years later he designed Burberry’s first ready-to-wear jewelry collection, interpreting their signature plaid onto Lucite.
In 2002 Alexis collaborates with legendary stylist and costume designer Patricia Field, creating custom designs for the girls of HBO’s Sex and the Cirty.
In 2004, Alexis celebrated the grand opening of his first eponymous boutique, located on Bromme Street in NYC; just two blocks from where he first began selling his wares over a decade ago. His designs are featured in the first of six worldwide Estee Lauder ad campaigns, styled by Lori Goldstein. Later that year, Bittar was named the “rising star o the year” by the prestigious Accessories Council of Excellence.
Bittar collaborated with legendary fashion designer, Michael Kors, on a exclusive runway collection for Kor’s Spring 2008 line in 2007.
In 2008 Alexis opened his second retail store in NYC, located on Bleecker street in the West Village.
Alexis wins the CFDA’s “Accessory Designer of the Year” Award in 2010.
