Exclusive | Stacey Bendet reveals superstar friend inspired her Alice + Olivia set design

Lauren Sánchez Bezos doesn’t just pilot helicopters, she also shares fashion inspo on the fly.

When Alice + Olivia founder, creative director and CEO Stacey Bendet was working on her spring 2026 presentation to be held Manhattan’s Surrogate’s Court, the new Mrs. Bezos sent her a vintage Vogue image of ten models in jacquard dresses posing in an elegant blue Gilded Age room. “She goes, you have to recreate this,” Bendet told Alexa.

“I was staring at this set, trying to figure out what to create in the Hall of Records under the staircase,” said Bendet, referring to the famous double-flight marble staircase in the Beaux-Arts-style edifice. “And when I saw that image, it was like this magical moment. I was like, ‘Are you reading my mind?’ We recreated the set.”

On Saturday, the designer showcased her line at a buzzy afternoon party in the historic building. Hundreds of guests sipped cocktails and toured a series of elaborate tableaux where models posed in themed vignettes. In the curved space beneath the staircase was the mise-en-scène based on Sánchez Bezos’ clipping.

Sporting her signature sparkly headbands and inky black eye makeup, Bendet greeted and posted for photos with dozens of stars including Brooks Nader, Ashlee Simpson, Sarah Pidgeon, Mary Holland Nader, Grace Ann Nader, Sarah Jane Nader, Nicky Hilton, Ava Dash, Jenny Mollen and more. UConn hoops champs Azzi Fudd and KK Arnold also posted up at the event.

Sánchez Bezos couldn’t make it, but Bendet said her friend’s assistance was invaluable. The newlywed philanthropist and media personality attended several high-profile fashion events in New York last week, including Chanel’s Sofia Coppola book party. Sánchez Bezos and her husband also went to the Kering Foundation Dinner and the launch of 72 magazine, the new publication from former British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.

“[Lauren] is so creative,” said Bendet. “She loves fashion and she’ll send things sometimes.”

The pioneering, fearless American woman is the overarching theme of this Alice + Olivia collection. “It was inspired by the fact that it’s the 250th anniversary of the United States [next year],” said Bendet. “And I wanted to do something that reflected on the intersection of fashion, art, culture and even industry over time. So each set in the show represents a different part of American history.”

Most dramatic of all was the Lady Liberty dress. With a spiked crown her her head and a torch in her hand, the model stood on the marble balcony overlooking the festivities. Her 20-foot-tall floral gown printed with butterflies and roses draped over the entrance.

It was a monument to imagination.