Alexis Bittar: Street merchant turned global giant

Inspired by Bakelite’s transformation from an industrial product to a fashion accessory, Bittar similarly restyled Lucite, applying French designer Rene Lalique’s technique of carving and fusing glass to the industrial plastic. Twenty-five years later, he remains obsessed with the versatile material, finding new dimensions for sculpting and manipulating its vast potential for optical color play. 

Beyond craftsmanship, however, Bittar admitted the legacy of a vintage piece is often a bigger appeal for him.

“Whether it’s Georgian or Victorian, or 1700s or 1960s, there’s so much history in these little miniscule sculptures that I find intriguing. Not only in how they were created, but how they get passed from person to person.  There’s so much transferred history,” Bittar said. “When you’re holding an antique piece of jewelry and it’s 150 years old, there’s a feeling of wanting to cherish it. You become amazed at how it’s made it through all of these years to now be in your hand.”

Bittar’s profound respect for legacy is, perhaps, behind his fondness for using older models in advertising campaigns.

“In the years I’ve spent in this business, doing 15 personal appointments per year and meeting thousands of women, I realized most women have a real shade about their age. This is really being compounded and driven home by advertising and images in the media. I started getting very political about showing more mature women in advertising.”

Six years ago, the legendary Joan Collins became his first mature muse, followed by original supermodel, Lauren Hutton.  Up next were Jennifer Saunders and Joanna Lumley, the iconic stars of the British sitcom Absolutely Fabulous. 

“I want to fight the message of looking at a 20-year-old model--whose images have been retouched--and having all women look at that one age like, ‘this is what we all need to look like.’ Yes, the 20-year-old is beautiful, and so is the 28-year-old and so is the 35-year-old, and the 48-year-old and 55-year-old.  It’s just a horrific thing to watch the world forget women 35 to 95,” Bittar said.

His latest advertising campaign pairs youth with experience, bringing together wunderkind Tavi Gavinson with the queen mother of fashion, Iris Apfel. With this campaign, Bittar wanted to show a 19-year-old still at the beginning of an already notable career alongside an illustrious, galvanizing 93-year-old woman whose own career doesn’t look to be ending any time soon.

“I wanted to show the breadth of age,” Bittar explained. “To look at age as something to celebrate; that what a person accomplishes in their lifetime is much sexier than trying to force yourself to fit into a box to look younger and younger, and to really look at having a full life … whether running for politics or having an amazing family, whatever that accomplishment means to you.”

Regarding his own accomplishment, from literally selling on Manhattan’s streets on an antique quilt to having both the First Lady and Lady Gaga as loyal customers, Bittar doesn’t hide the challenges it took to get to where he is now.

Amongst pushing past an insecurity surrounding his unconventional start and having to learn to trust his own instincts regarding his designs, Bittar also struggled with his lack of formal business training. 

In 2004, after being named “Rising Star of the Year” by the Accessories Council, he was advised that if he really wanted to grow, he needed to bring in an expert who knew the business side of the industry.

Bittar hired as both his chief operating officer and chief financial officer an executive skilled at managing big businesses, but unskilled in the significantly different nuances of a small, growing business. It was a disaster that almost bankrupted the company. Yet, the experience was not without a silver lining.

“It taught me that I needed to understand every aspect of my business, there was no passing it on,” Bittar said. “I had to learn everything and not be afraid about it. I became a micromanager, which is always seen as a negative term, but if you’re an entrepreneur and not a micromanager, you’re probably going to go under. I ended up becoming much more successful as a result.”

And as a result, he now celebrates his 25th year in business. With a growing staff of more than 400 employees, a recent partnership with private equity firm TSG Consumer Partners LLC to support his expansion plans, and the loyalty (and deep pocket books) of women over age 35,  Bittar certainly will be around for another 25.

Unfortunately, the same can’t be said of Fragments, which recently ceased operations after 30 years in business.

“It is an end of an era,” Bittar said, reflecting on the place that gave him his start. “Janet was an institution and Fragments was an institution. Janet and Jimmy really loved finding young designers.  She was definitely a godmother to a lot of independent designers. I love you, Janet!”

National Jeweler contributor Lilian M. Raji is a strategic marketing and public relations adviser for luxury lifestyle companies in the areas of fine jewelry and watches, luxury fashion accessories and cosmetics. She’s been published on Forbes.com, Luxury Society.com, as well as in Canadian Jeweller and Harry Norman Home. Contact her at lilian@lmrpr.com.