“When I bought my business back I really made a pact with myself that I’m going to do things that interest me,” Alexis Bittar said.
The jewelry designer returned to New York Fashion Week for the third time since taking his business back in 2021, leaning into storytelling with an even sharper edge to debut its fall collection.
The designer is dialed in. Several campaigns have gone viral on social media, and for NYFW he debuted a new narrative, “The Sexecutions of Amanda Gates,” a live re-enactment of Bittar’s viral mockumentary social media series, co-directed by Klimovski. The event read darker and deliberately uncomfortable. Set against a ’90s true-crime backdrop, the fictional character is a female serial killer who targets repeat violent offenders who escaped accountability through power, prestige, or institutional failure. He explained that the concept doubles as a commentary on society’s fixation with true-crime narratives — and the moral ambiguity baked into consuming them as entertainment.
“Maybe because I have kids, but I believe in using this platform with social commentary, because I feel it’s important,” he said, elaborating that he knows the directive at many American fashion brands is to “sell to the masses. They build a business as fast as that they can. One that doesn’t offend anyone. For me, I’m OK offending some people,” he said, pointing out that he has found there are many people who connect deeper with the brand because of his activism.
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That tension carried directly into the jewelry. Oversized, sculptural pieces took on a confrontational feeling of armor. “I love statement pieces where you can see the craftsmanship, always fusing art with fashion,” he said of his design ethos.
That same confidence extended to the handbags, a category that has steadily grown for the brand. “I found my stride with occasion bags because I can really incorporate the craftsmanship in the hardware with the bag where the hardware speaks to the consumer and also that connects them emotionally.”
By framing the collection around a female protagonist reclaiming agency the designer sharpened both his point of view and his product offering.
“When I came up with this theme, I obviously had a few people in mind,” he said.
