Published February 2008

Gold and silver are always in fashion. Now Alexis Bittar, Mizuki and Avindy are incorporating blackened and oxidized metals in their jewelry collections. Think Gothic gone girly.

Alexis Bittar’s current collection continues his themes of Lucite, Element and Miss Haversham. However, the look evolves with two uses of the oxidized metals sterling silver and gunmetal. The first creates “a grunge, punk and bohemian feel,” he explains. The latter evokes the Eighties and has a slicker sensibility than oxidized silver alone.

Among Mizuki’s many collections, including Soho, Lux, Cool, Candy, Boho and Couture, her Rock collection most intimately reflects this trend with black diamonds, yellow gold, cape amethyst and oxidized silver. Mizuki describes her Rock pieces as “edgy but warm. [They] explore the world of mystery.”

For Avindy’s mother-daughter design team of Avril and Cindy Joffe, the oxidation process helps to achieve a romantic vintage look by toning down brightness.

“Mixing a black or oxidized chain with gold jewelry…is the ultimate contrast to shine and sparkle. It makes a statement,” says Janet Goldman, chairman and founder of Fragments, a New York-based boutique and showroom.

Written by Sarah Perpich for WWD Accessories, February 2008

Published July 2007

More than a mash-up of its designer’s name, is a fusion of French vintage and Manhattan modernity. Whether working from her studio in Paris or New York, Elizabeth Gottlieb blends the cultures and trends of the two cities into her beaded costume jewelry. “To me, Paris is the eternal beauty, but New York City is turned to modernity and the future,” she says. Gottlieb, who currently employs just two other designers, is expanding her New York presence to fulfill what she says is American women’s desire for a certain je ne sais quoi in their outfits.Crafted from silver, gold vermeil and vintage Murano glass beads, among other materials, the jewelry, she says, “adds a personal touch to your own character, which makes the whole difference.”

The elegant designs are as varied as Gottlieb’s past. Born in France and raised in Vienna, Gottlieb trained as a classical pianist before transitioning to music management and eventually, in 2002, launching the Lizalieb line. Today, her creations are found in French boutiques, at Paris’ Place Vendôme, at Mirabelle and White Tulip in New York and on lizaleibcreations.com. She also holds showcases and trunk shows at Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. Retail prices range from $300 for a pair of earrings to $900 for a multistrand choker like the one recently purchased by Catherine Zeta-Jones.

Written by Sarah Perpich for WWD Accessories, July 2007.

Published October 2007

It is less than a year old, but the Beirn handbag collection is already on fire. Rita Overzat and her two daughters, Ali Trier and Jenna Overzat, dreamed up the collection on a trip to Bali, where they concluded that the only way to find the luxurious luggage they wanted was to make it themselves. The trio handled everything from the designs to the marketing, advertising and product placement. Even the Beirn moniker (Which is Ali and Jenna’s middle name) is a nod to the fact that this is a homegrown family business.

The Beirn collection includes the popular Jenna hobo for $310 at retail, zip clutches of various sizes ranging from $105 to $150, a traveler’s tote for $575 and baby bag Emma for $295. The bags are available in 25 colors, all glossed over with Mowilex to enhance their vividness and richness. Each piece is made of Indonesian water snake and is lined with canvas in juxtaposing colors and accented with a brass snap and zipper.

The guiding force behind the Beirn collection is Rita Overzat’s belief in simplified luxury at an affordable price. “I don’t think price defines luxury,” says Rita Overzat, a former executive at Saks Fifth Avenue and Badgley Mischka, and current president and founder of New York-based luxury showroom The RJM Group. “It’s how you wear it and the way you interpret it yourself.”

Beirn bags can be found in more than 29 boutiques and shops around the country, from Searle, Plaza Too and Calypso in New York to Fred Segal in California, as well as in Mexico and Turks and Caicos. Since launching earlier this year, sales have topped $300,000.

Going forward, the three entrepreneurs plan to build on the success of the women’s handbag line to design belts and small leather goods, and venture into the gentlemen’s handbag market as well.

Written by Sarah Perpich for WWD Accessories, October 2007.