The Fashion Informer

Spring 2009 Accessories Preview: Alexis Bittar

 

French Vogue cover?  Check.  “Sex and the City” cameo?  Check.  Recurring role on “Lipstick Jungle” and high-profile appearances in the current issues of Harper’s Bazaar and American Vogue?  Check, check, check. 

Although he’s been designing jewelry for 20 years – and sold in prestigious outlets like the MoMA gift shop since the early 90s – Alexis Bittar seems to be enjoying a resurgence as of late.  That’s not to say that his jewelry has ever been out of favor (far from it), but these days, it seems as though you can’t go to the movies, turn on the TV or flip through a magazine without seeing at least one of the Brooklyn native’s instantly identifiable – some might even say iconic - baubles. 

Look, there’s an Alexis Bittar Lucite ring in the latest Estee Lauder campaign! And isn’t that a Bittar necklace on the runway at Tuleh and Michael Kors? And there he is on Time Out’s website, genially offering viewers a behind-the-scenes peek at the making of his hand-carved collection.

Yet despite the recent media blitz, Bittar has never been one to rest on his laurels.  He opened a second shop on New York’s bustling Bleecker Street earlier this year, began selling limited edition archival pieces on his website a few weeks ago and, earlier this month, hosted a private press preview at Soho House in the Meatpacking District to debut his spring 2009 collection, which consists of three lines:  Lucite, Elements and Miss Havisham.

“Miss Havisham is coming on its third year,” said the charmingly low-key designer while walking The Fashion Informer through the range, pointing out a molten-looking silver cuff and a clear, hand-sculpted bubble cuff and necklace with a brass ball floating inside.  “Normally it’s super sculptural, sharp, with a kind of Grace Jones 30s/80s vibe, and we’re still keeping that feeling. But I brought in this liquid feeling metal to soften it, because I want to keep growing this collection. And then I brought in clear for the first time to add another dimension to the line.”

Elements, on the other hand, still hews to the more delicate side of the street, but Bittar has added a few chunkier pieces for spring, including a cinched quartz shard necklace in crystal or wood, with a center stone that appears to be laced into the metal (the same technique is used, to great effect, on a turquoise and gold cuff). And the now-infamous Lou Lou statement cuffs (the ones that appeared on the cover of French Vogue and are named for Parisienne style icon and YSL muse Loulou de la Felaise), have been joined by the equally statement-making glass Waterfall collar (with hundreds of bead droplets soldered onto a mesh backing) and a series of surrealist Floral pieces with delicate gold hands floating amid a bouquet of white blossoms. 

“I wanted to get more size and volume for this line, because I feel like it’s needed,” explained the genial jeweler.

His iconic Lucite line, meanwhile, had been updated with all manner of fanciful pieces, including adorable parrot brooches, tribal- and psychedelic fur-print bangles, colorful Swarovski-studded and mirrored cubist cuffs, ginormous celestial “pearl” necklaces and earrings, and a gorgeous necklace of woven Lucite petals, which manages, like many of Bittar's best designs, to be both delicate and bold.

And in a nod to Bittar’s favorite decade, he’s offering up a super cute ice cream social pin (featuring a melting silver dome on a mint green Lucite cone), ‘80s wave pins, and Risky Business brooches (think:  gold-lensed Lucite sunglasses).

“I’m obsessed!” admitted the designer with a delighted laugh.  So are we, Alexis.  So are we.

 

Alexis Bittar will be holding a sample sale of past season’s merchandise on Friday, December 5^th and Saturday, December 6^th from 9:30am-7pm at 153 East 60^th Street in New York.  All jewelry will be up to 70 percent off retail and range from $20-$200. Cash and credit cards accepted.

 

Photos courtesy Alexis Bittar

 

Spring 2009 Accessories Preview: Be & D

Garbo’s back!  No, not Greta, silly.  The studded handbag of the same name, first introduced by accessories company Be & D when they launched their line back in 2004. 

This spring, in honor of the label’s fifth anniversary, designers Be Inthavong and Steve Dumain are reintroducing their now iconic (and much copied) rock-chic satchel, with whipstitching, updated hardware and the addition of a shoulder bag style – already on the hit list of fashion-loving It girls of the bold name variety. 

“The Garbo launched the beginning of the hardware craze,” Dumain told The Fashion Informer during a recent visit to the duo’s midtown Manhattan showroom of the bag that put them on the fashion map.  “But two years into it, everyone had done their version of the studded bag – from big designers to down-market lines – so we ran the other way.”

For Be & D, numerous celebrity-named bags followed (the Ava, the Crawford) as did numerous celebrity clients (Liv Tyler, Mena Suvari, Charlize Theron, Leighton Meester, Blake Lively, Rihanna, Eva Longoria and Penelope Cruz, to name a few), along with the recent addition of shoes, belts and small leather goods.

Along with re-embracing the Garbo, Be & D have evolved their newer styles for spring, including the Belleville hobo (available in a turquoise eelskin and washed champagne python), the Cosette (fashioned from crinkle white patent or a two-tone Aztec weave leather) and the aptly named Kan-Kan tote, which pre-dates Prada’s ruffled bag by (ahem) several seasons. 

Most of the exotic skins in the line were designed with the help of a small tannery in upstate New York, in keeping with Inthavong and Duman’s desire to use local manufacturers whenever possible (all Be & D merch is sewn in their own Manhattan atelier and Garbo’s metal studs are always applied by artisans working in-house).

The duo’s beloved studs also turn up on the corset-like Garbo belt and new-to-the-line wallets, while spring’s shoe styles walk the line between sexy and ladylike, thanks to floral Ikat prints and elegant silhouettes paired with refined platforms and seductive, tough-meets-tender cut outs.

“Spring was inspired by the idea of the sky and the land, or two minds coming together,” said Inthavong, who hails from Laos (Dumain, meanwhile, was raised on a horse farm in upstate New York).  Hence the “tribal fisherman” theme of one shoe style, and the gold bottom that adorns each pair – a nod to Laos’ Buddhist temples and a good luck symbol, thought to ward off bad vibes.

Certainly, Be & D have had nothing but good vibes as of late - their handbags have appeared in several episodes of “Gossip Girl” - and it’s a lucky streak that will surely continue when the new line hits shelves next season.

Photos courtesy Be & D