This month marks the 20th anniversary of Stacey Bendet’s Alice + Olivia label. The designer has a slew of activations and events planned throughout the year, which she kicked off with a presentation of the brand’s fall collection at Zero Bond.
To commemorate the anniversary, Bendet tapped poet Mahogany L. Browne to compose an original poem, titled “The Song of She,” about women using creativity and beauty to lift one another up — the “it takes a village” sentiment.” The poem, which was said to represent the past and future spirit of Bendet’s business, could be heard as a voiceover and seen as a graphic backdrop within the designer’s fall film, which featured dancers and aerialist performers to the choreography of Ebony Williams. The poem and artwork will later be turned into printed blouses.
The look: A return to signature styles mixed with bold, youthful fashions.
Quote of note: “One of the things I’m most proud of as a brand is from the start, we were always about inclusivity, about democratizing fashion, about making women feel really welcome in our world and community, both in terms of our clothes and the experiences of our events, shows, stores.”
Key pieces: Head-to-toe bright color-blocked, urban takes on tailoring (silky cargo pants with velvet blazers, à la ’90s-era Tom Ford); “tougher” party girl fashions with crystal embellishments, chain mail, elaborate beading, sequins and feather embellishments; statement animal-printed layers.
The takeaway: The collection echoed Bendet’s woman-powered ethos with bold colors and shapes, varying “inner instinct of a woman” animal prints, signature bohemian femininity and rock ‘n’ roll flair.