About
A creative studio in sustainable luxury.
Polite Worldwide makes jewelry, eyewear and one-of-one painted garments by hand in Los Angeles, in small numbers, to be kept.
How it started
An alternative, not a protest.
Christian Azzinaro founded Polite in Los Angeles in January 2020, against a pattern he kept seeing: negative, almost demonic imagery sold as luxury, and product made at volume with no intention behind it.
There was a second gap. Pearls were sold as a woman's piece, and men were rarely offered them. Polite makes them for anyone, to be kept rather than cycled through.
The first piece was a pink pearl necklace with a P charm, made as a keepsake tied to his grandmother. Post Malone wore it on repeat. Everything since has followed that pattern: nothing manufactured, everything made in Los Angeles.
The principle
Sculpture, not accessory.
Polite treats jewelry like sculpture, for people who refuse to let luxury mean waste. A piece, at any price, is made to be kept.
The studio
Made by hand, in Los Angeles.
Polite is a small studio, and Christian works in production himself: he works the jewelry by hand and airbrushes the garments.
The pearl necklaces are arranged one strand at a time, so no two color sequences are identical. The pearls are freshwater, and the clasps are sterling silver or 14k gold, depending on the piece.
The garments are drawn or airbrushed by Christian directly onto the fabric. Each one is an original and is not repeated. The Utopia shirt Hunter Schafer wore on Euphoria was made this way.
Eyewear came next, as a way to bring other materials into the category.
The making
Arranged, not assembled.
What you can check, and what we do when something needs fixing.
| Made | In Los Angeles, by hand. Pearl necklaces are arranged one strand at a time, so no two color sequences are identical. |
|---|---|
| Materials | Freshwater pearls. Clasps in sterling silver or 14k gold, depending on the piece. |
| Length | We adjust every piece. If the length is wrong, tell us and we change it. |
| Warranty | One year, complimentary: one restring or refresh and one length adjustment. Shipping and materials are not included. |
| Repairs | Included with every jewelry purchase. Write to hello@politeworldwide.com to have a piece cleaned, repaired or adjusted. |
| Exchanges | Within 7 days of delivery: exchange or store credit, for pieces unworn and in their original packaging with tags. Eyewear cannot be returned. |
| Shipping | Complimentary in the US. International orders are complimentary above $500; duties and taxes are the customer's. |
| Care | Pearls are natural. Keep them dry: no showers, no swimming. If a piece is damaged in wear, we repair it. |
| A person | Message the concierge on WhatsApp, or write to hello@politeworldwide.com. |
The ocean
Working with the ocean in mind.
In July 2020, months after the studio opened, Polite made a limited-edition T-shirt with Atmos magazine and the ocean nonprofit Lonely Whale, for Plastic Free July.
Polite also supports Coral Gardeners, who grow resilient corals and plant them to bring dying reefs back to life.
The jewelry carries the same idea. A piece that is kept is a piece that is never thrown away.
Written about
Found, not pushed.
Vogue, Vogue France, Highsnobiety, Hypebeast and the CFDA have written about the studio since 2020. None of it was paid for.
Next
Were you part of that drop?
New work arrives in small runs, and each one is documented when it does.