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Alexis Bittar: Made in Brooklyn

Alexis Bittar has never done anything the typical way. The award-winning jewelry designer got his start not with a design internship or influx of investor cash, but by peddling his pieces on the streets of SoHo, in New York. Sixteen years later, he manages a staff of 300 inside a full-floor factory in downtown Brooklyn, producing one of today’s most successful and recognizable jewelry lines.

“It was a strange feeling when people began associating my name with the jewelry,” says Bittar, a Brooklyn native. “I remember accidentally leaving my ID at the gym, and when I came back, the girls behind the counter were giggling, saying, ‘We love your stuff!’”

Of that stuff, the luminous, hand-carved Lucite shapes are his biggest signature, but he also works in semi-precious stones and metals, mixing sensual, organic shapes with feminine glamour.

In 1992 he was discovered by Bergdorf Goodman, and went on to collaborate with world-class designers, museums and stylists. Bittar’s formula for success is creating jewelry that is both aspirational in design and accessible in price. The bold Lucite and metal pieces that grace magazine covers are the same ones that sell out of stores each season. Every item from Bittar’s three lines, Elements, Lucite and Miss Havisham, retails for under $500 and can be spotted on Cameron Diaz, Emma Stone, and his iconic ad campaign stars, Joan Collins and Lauren Hutton.

Now, one year after his CFDA win for Accessory Designer of the Year, Bittar is paving a new path for the brand in the form of two additional categories: a precious jewelry collection he’ll launch in 2012 and a handbag line he’s “concepting” now.

“I see the brand being very multi-dimensional in terms of other product,” said Bittar. “I am constantly trying to give wonderment and awe to my products and that feeling of excitement and curiosity. So I hope the precious line will reflect that, but with a more refined look, like it could be passed down and collected.”

Bittar said that while the CFDA award hasn’t affected his business (he reported double-digit growth each year for the last five years), it has given him a new sense of confidence and trust in his work. Bittar is only the sixth jewelry designer ever to take home the trophy. His predecessors include Paloma Picasso, Elsa Perreti, Robert Lee Morris, Chrome Hearts and Tom Binns.

“I don’t think the CFDA award changed my business, but I do think it changed me,” said Bittar. “I created my business in an unconventional way. There was no model of where I wanted to be in fashion and in the market. It showed me that I could do things my way, create my own formula and be well received by my peers. It was very validating, but it also ups the ante. Now it’s on to the next.”

Shop Alexis Bittar.