Jeweler Alexis Bittar can rightfully be called a man-brand that made the American dream come true. The artist was born and raised in New York City, the son of university professors and avid collectors of antiques, who instilled in Alexis a love of vintage jewelry and helped unleash his entrepreneurial skills.
“At the age of ten, I started selling flowers on the streets from a beautiful painted cart,” says Bittar. “It was my parents’ idea, they wanted me and my brother to understand what work is.” And on his thirteenth birthday, the boy received an antique jewelry set as a gift, which he immediately successfully sold on one of the New York squares.
Alexis Bittar History
While in high school, young Alexis discovered the club life. And it was then that the young man showed interest in design and fashion. At the age of 22, after dropping out of college, he devoted himself entirely to art: hand-made jewelry made of lucite, a durable translucent plastic, he then sold on the streets of the Soho area. The talented guy was noticed by Dawn Mello, creative director of the legendary fashion store Bergdorf Goodman, starting a dizzying career as an artist.
Today, Alexis Bittar is the head of a jewelry brand and small jewelry manufacturer based in Brooklyn. When creating a collection, the artist personally develops and cuts out of plastic prototypes of future necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Then, under his strict guidance, the jewelry is brought to perfection: painting is applied, metal elements, crystals and precious stones are added.
The result is unique and highly acclaimed works of art:
in 2010, Alexis won the 2010 Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Accessory Designer of the Year award.
The jeweler has numerous collaborations with Estée Lauder, Burberry, Michael Kors, Jason Wu, Jeremy Scott, Phillip Lim and others, many shootings for fashion publications, the pages of which he carefully keeps on the blackboard in his office. And even work on the images of the heroines of the Sex and the City series.
Alexis describes his view of life and work very simply: “You can’t be afraid of hard work. Most people just want to be famous, because society dictates the cult of popularity, and no one wants to put effort into honing their skills. There is an opinion that everything will come by itself or someone will “discover” you, make you a star. All this is complete nonsense! The sooner you realize that only you and your work can help the potential to be realized, the sooner you will achieve your goal.”
