On September 12, 2025, Alexis Bittar presented his Spring/Summer 2026 collection at the Abrons Theater during New York Fashion Week. Titled “Miss USA 1991,” the presentation stepped far outside the boundaries of a traditional runway show. Instead, it merged jewelry, theater, and performance art to create a layered commentary on beauty, politics, and power.
–
A Stage Set for Unease
–
Bittar reimagined the familiar structure of a beauty pageant, but through a lens of surrealism and disquiet. Contestants filed in through a rotating doorway, walking silently before a lone male judge. The atmosphere was eerie, and heavy with symbolism.
The reference to 1991 wasn’t arbitrary. By evoking an era before the dominance of social media, Bittar reminded the audience of a time when beauty was still filtered through televised pageants and the judgment of a panel. Yet he framed it through the present, linking it to today’s debates around identity and control of the body. By assigning contestants to states where transgender rights are currently endangered, he underlined the stakes of the spectacle.
–
Jewelry as Statement Pieces
–
The collection itself was bold, balancing elegance with defiance. Sculptural necklaces, chandelier earrings, oversized cuffs, and layered bangles caught the light like armor, their size and weight deliberately commanding attention.
The contrast between airy translucence and dense metallics made the jewelry more than decorative. It became a metaphor for both vulnerability and strength.
–
Narrative & Symbolism
–
One of the show’s most striking inversions was its treatment of roles. The male host, placed at the center, became a stand-in for authority and patriarchal control, while the contestants—traditionally passive symbols of perfection—emerged as figures of resistance.
In choosing 1991 as his frame of reference, Bittar drew attention to the continuity of scrutiny placed on women and marginalized groups while also pointing to how those judgments are evolving in a time of heightened cultural and political tension.
–
Beyond Fashion
–
With Miss USA 1991, Alexis Bittar offered more than accessories. He presented a vision where adornment becomes protest, performance becomes politics, and fashion itself becomes a form of resistance.