Stacey Bendet has proven time and again her skill for world-building and spring 2025 was no exception. Guests to her Meatpacking District presentation Saturday were invited to check into “Hotel Imagination,” where the Alice + Olivia designer’s own imagination went wild with a series of rooms and corridors decorated to match her formal-skewed collection rich in texture and embellishment.
“The idea was that you were being transported to this magical world of decades past,” Bendet said during a preview. She pointed to the 1950s when dressing in full regalia was de rigueur for well-traveled ladies before posing the question: “How do we take that Dior sort of vibe and make it modern?”
Her answer? Take the stuffiness out of midcentury couture tropes and pump them with the cheeky irreverence that’s key to Alice + Olivia’s DNA. Formality and fun were cleverly married in her take on Toile de Jouy, which placed Bendet’s bun-headed “Stace” figure among its scenic pattern. Function came in by way of new snappable skirts, which were worked into tiered gowns that could be worn short for dancing.
One was resplendent in garden florals and another, comically large polka dots. “Ultimately, I want to take a lot of these prints and do homeware like bedding and plates,” hinted Bendet at the possibility of an expansion. More immediately, she has handbags on her mind. A small batch of limited-edition shoulder bags, bow clutches and jewel-encrusted minaudières will drop alongside this season’s looks to gauge interest.
Always with an eye on new projects, Bendet isn’t above revisiting older styles, like the “Olivia” pants, tweaked here for “the best butt-fit we’ve ever made,” she joked. They were shown with a few sweeping blazers, but an exaggerated portrait-collar crop top was a cooler take on evening separates with Cristóbal Balenciaga airs.
On the daywear front, Bendet’s ode to 1950s American sportswear was another high note. Denim, striped rugby polos, blouses with menswear ties and a drapey red, white and blue double-breasted suit will likely be a hit in stores given the remixed preppy trend that’s circulating in the fashion ether.