Designer Stacey Bendet's latest collection for Alice + Olivia was inspired by the American dream. "You know, that late-1950s optimism," she said in a preview at her Meatpacking District studio. It started with a color palette drawn from the work of artist Ilya Bolotowsky, who cleverly mixed the decade's primary hues with unexpected pastels. For Spring, Bendet took that idea and ran with it. Pale blue chambray-denim pants were paired with a cobalt sequin tank and striped jacket. A Kelly green swing skirt and T-shirt were topped with a red and white Pop-art cardigan sweater that had lips and a heavily mascara-ed eye on it. "There is a little humor in everything," Bendet said. What's funny is how many people flocked to the model who was dressed in white gauchos and a rhinestone-encrusted bustier with a leather jacket thrown over her shoulder. That was the best look, but the handbags, which are a new venture for Spring, were also hard to forget. The Lucite clutches filled with candy were particularlysweet. But overall, the range seemed to lack a cohesive point of view. Yet Bendet spoke to that. "As a designer today, part of my job is to pick a trend and to design the clothes," she said. "But I also need to create a way for my customers to be individuals." With a Meatpacking District store opening next month and other outposts on the West Coast and abroad, Bendet must be doing something right.
Alice + Olivia's Stacey Bendet just gave birth to another baby, but that doesn't mean she's stopped her party girl lifestyle—or designing for it. Cue the flirty, acid green and fitted python dresses (made with the Beverly Hills shoppers in mind), the brightly colored miniskirts, and a heavy dosage of "sexy girl shoes." Flats? Not the Bendet way.
"I just had a baby—I have to be able to run up and down the stairs in heels, so they better be comfortable," she says, holding up razor cutout cream wedges and strappy, champagne gold stilettos that look more suited for Le Bain than le nursery. "They are just like little pops of candy." The shoes look custom-made to satisfy the Alice + Olivia girl's sweet tooth. Ditto the Skittle-colored linen pants and blouses, a black maxi dress, and another with a chiffon skirt the color of vanilla.
"Do you have anything long?" That was the question Stacey Bendet kept hearing from friends on the hunt for a special-occasion dress, so she decided to takeAlice + Olivia's popular party frocks and give them the gown treatment. A full collection followed, officially launching for Fall, but only a handful of the floor-length dresses were on view at her presentation. That doesn't mean the collection was low on drama. The characters invoked by the rest of the clothes ran the gamut from Lolita to David Bowie, which is exactly the kind of range the retail-minded Bendet is striving for.
Bowie, you say? Yes, the Thin White Duke showed up once in a louche emerald green and black striped velvet pantsuit and again in a pageboy cap and pair of burnished platinum cargo pants. Those may sound like eye-catching outfits, but the effusive mood of an Alice + Olivia presentation means that even the most extraordinary of combinations are just part of the colorful melee. It would have been nice to see the new gowns on their own. A green and black strapless number with a kicky peplum looked like it had taken time and skill to make, but it got lost amid the canned looks for day. There's something undeniably fun about the kooky world Bendet has cooked up for her customer, but this season it felt like there were fewer pieces of substance to sink your teeth into.
When it comes to occasion dressing, Stacey Bendet sure knows how to go all-out. Case in point: the confetti-hued, voluminous gown she wore to the CFDA Awards two weeks ago. Typically, her designs for Alice + Olivia are just as attention-grabbing, but her Resort lineup was a mostly more subdued affair, full of monochrome pastel looks like a bedazzled lavender silk slipdress worn over tonal stovepipes. Priced between $190 and $250, which is the "sweet spot" for Alice + Olivia's young customer, the label's colored jeans have been thriving, and she's expanding her denim offerings to include styles like slouchy chambray trousers and sequined skinnies. Highlights here included tailored shorts suits cut from a metallic burnout linen as well as an on-trend oversize coat with bracelet sleeves in a shardlike mosaic pattern. It's "exactly what you need for patrolling the streets," Bendet said of the collection. Compared to Alice + Olivia's usual flashy fare, we'd say these clothes will blend in on the sidewalks but still earn some "what is she
No comments:
Post a Comment