Alexis Bittar’s penchant for the sudden continues with a jewellery collaboration created in partnership with the St. Regis resort. The gathering blends his model’s daring renegade aesthetic with the resort’s basic luxurious heritage. “I just like the juxtaposition,” he instructed WWD. “It’s a cool mixture.”
The five-piece capsule options Bittar’s signature creative parts like Lucite, hand-carved into delicate flowers with three-dimensional pink petals. The gathering pays homage to Caroline Astor, the mom of St. Regis resort founder John Jacob Astor IV. Mrs. Astor, a distinguished socialite in New York Metropolis in the course of the late 1800s, was recognized for her position in establishing town’s excessive society.
The collaboration coincides with the a hundred and twentieth anniversary of the opening of the primary St. Regis in New York Metropolis in addition to the resort’s intensive renovation of its public areas, together with the famed King Cole Bar. The redesign maintains the resort’s Beaux-Arts heritage whereas introducing fashionable parts for a recent interpretation of Gilded Age glamour, an aesthetic additionally mirrored in Bittar’s bespoke assortment.
“After I consider Caroline Astor, I consider the time interval she embodied, very highly effective and really female power,” stated Bittar. Astor cherished the American Magnificence Rose, therefore the gathering is centered on floral parts with 14-karat gold accents and pearls, a nod to her signature accent.
A cuff from the Alexis Bittar St. Regis capsule assortment.
Each bit within the assortment, starting from an announcement brooch to a pearl strand choker and dramatic drop earrings with Swarovski crystal, evokes the jewels Astor wore to the legendary midnight suppers she hosted on the resort.
Bittar stated he found sudden parallels between the resort’s matriarch and himself. Astor was recognized for curating essentially the most attention-grabbing artists for her dinners, one thing very acquainted to Bittar. “After I take into consideration the dinners she hosted, it out of the blue hit me, I’ve extra in frequent with Caroline Astor than I assumed. I really like bringing attention-grabbing folks collectively. This previous Thanksgiving we had 200 folks at house in Brooklyn,” he stated.
The designer’s ardour for collaboration and cultivating inventive communities has change into a tenet for his firm since he bought it again in 2021 after stepping away from the enterprise for six years.
Bittar says he returned with a renewed sense of inventive freedom. “I felt freer than I ever have. I don’t really feel beholden to a few of the issues I did earlier than,” he stated, in reference to investor pressures.
This newfound liberation has manifested in collaborations like this one with The St. Regis, in addition to a sequence of irreverent advertising and marketing campaigns which have captivated his followers and followers. Bittar writes, directs and casts his family and friends members within the movies, which function New York Metropolis prominently as a part of the storyline.
The movies eschew conventional shiny vogue campaigns in favor of gritty, comedic movies that sort out social points head-on in a refreshingly unfiltered tackle the luxurious world. “If I’m a self-owned model, I’m a minimum of going to place my stamp on it,” he stated.
Bittar has enlisted longtime pals like Elizabeth Saltzman, Susan Sarandon and even his personal kids to seem within the movies, creating an genuine, community-driven strategy.
The storylines are widespread on Instagram, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. “We get to speak in regards to the full dialog,” Bittar says, citing discussions round LGBTQIA+ terminology and variety that unfold organically between the characters, all whereas carrying Bittar’s equipment.
His willingness to be politically incorrect whereas sustaining a powerful narrative thread has resonated deeply with audiences. “I’m gonna do all of it,” he declares, “and who is aware of, it’d come to chunk me sooner or later, however I’m having enjoyable.”