Stacey Bendet
Stacey Bendet (born 1978) is the chief executive officer and creative director of Alice + Olivia,[1] a contemporary clothing company based in New York City. She is the Founder of Creatively,[2] a networking platform for the creative industry, and co-founder of the #ShareTheMicNow movement,[3] which was created in an effort to help amplify black women's voices.
Stacey Bendet | |
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![]() Bendet in 2018 | |
Born | Stacey Bendet 1978 (age 42–43) |
Nationality | American |
Occupation | Designer |
Spouse(s) | |
Children | 3 |
Family | Michael Eisner (father-in-law) Breck Eisner (brother-in-law) |
Early life and education
Bendet was born in 1978 to Olivia (née Bendet) Wiener and Joseph Daniel Wiener.[4][5][6] Bendet is of Jewish heritage[7] and had a bat mitzvah celebration.[8] Bendet's father ran a textile import business,[9] and was "involved in one of the country's leading lace-manufacturing companies"[10] while she herself was interested in fashion and clothing from a young age.[9][11] Bendet graduated from Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua, New York and studied international relations and French at the University of Pennsylvania in 1999.[12]
Career
In 2002, Bendet and her University of Pennsylvania classmate Rebecca Matchett (later co-founder of Rebecca & Drew Manufacturing) founded Alice + Olivia.[11][13][14] The brand was named after her mother Olivia, and her classmate's mother Alice.[11][14] Bendet's desire to make "a trouser sexy" and "the focus of an outfit" led to her modifying a pair of jeans that were cut slim at the hip to create the illusion of elongated legs and a lean silhouette.[15] Designer Lisa Kline noticed her walking by and ordered twenty sets of the outfit,[9] which provided an opportunity for Bendet to launch a collection based around that concept at the Russian Tea Room.[15] Soon after, the department store Barneys New York placed an order, and Andrew Rosen, developer of the Theory fashion line, offered to finance Bendet's new business.[9]
The brand has since grown into a full lifestyle collection that features ready-to-wear, gowns, shoes, tech accessories, and handbags.[16] Freestanding boutiques have opened in over 30 major cities around the world, with a current total of 38 stores.
In 2020, she founded and launched Creatively,[2] a networking platform for the creative industry. Later that year, she co-founded an Instagram campaign called #ShareTheMicNow[3] in an effort to bring Black Women's voices to the forefronts of predominately white women's Instagram accounts in an "account takeover" format.
Personal life
She married film producer Eric Eisner, the son of Disney executive Michael Eisner, on the Caribbean island of Anguilla in 2008.[9] The couple have three children: Eloise Breckenridge Eisner,[17] Scarlet Haven Eisner,[18] and Athena Belle Eisner.[19] She splits her time between New York and Los Angeles.[20]
Bendet practices Ashtanga Vinyasa yoga.[21][22]
She is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America board of directors and the GOOD+ Foundation board of trustees, and she supports Ronald McDonald House. She also sits on the board of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater.[23]
Bendet has appeared on the Vanity Fair Best-Dressed list four years in a row and is in the Best-Dressed Hall of Fame.[24][25]
References
- Market Wired: "alice + olivia and ImagineX Partner for Greater China Expansion" May 15, 2013
- WWD: "Stacey Bendet Launches Creatively, a Networking Platform for Creative Industries" May 5, 2020
- Vanity Fair: "White Celebrities Will Hand Off Instagram Accounts to Amplify Black Women’s Voices" June 9, 2020
- Salt Lake Tribune: "Just like the rest of us, designers look to mom and dad for inspiration, advice" by Francine Parnes September 10, 2007
- Jewcy: "Stacey Bendet on Clothes, Ashtanga, and Trying to Blow Up Soho House" by Deb Schoeneman March 16, 2007
- Gawker: "Before They Were Sorta Famous: Stacey Bendet" by Doree Shafir January 8, 2007
- Jewish Exponent: "The Luxe Starts Here" by Mimi James August 16, 2012
- Adrianne Pasquarelli (2011). "Stacey Bendet, 33". Crain's New York Business. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- Elle: "Alice + Olivia Designer Stacey Bendet Eisner's New Pad - Being a grown-up doesn't mean you have to forsake fun" by Miranda Purves March 31, 2010
- https://www.inquirer.com/philly/phillywomen/20070729_A_connected_collection.html
- Philadelphia Inquirer: "A connected collection The skinny on designer Stacey Bendet? She's fast-forward fashion with the slim and tiny pants, shoes up next, and well-heeled friends" by Elizabeth Wellington July 29, 2007
- Sarah Bernard (February 23, 2004). "Flash Pants". New York Magazine. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
- Sun Sentinel: "Alice + Olivia designer Stacey Bendet comes to Saks in South Florida" by Rod Hagwood December 7, 2011
- AOL Small Business News: "Meet the New Young Millionaires - Forget Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. The founders of Facebook, YouTube, and other upstart companies are shaking up the business world -- and making millions along the way" By Geoff Williams May 27, 2010
- Interview Magazine: "Introducing: Stacey Bendet of Alice + Olivia" retrieved May 13, 2014
- http://www.luxandconcord.com/alice-olivia-new-handbag-line/
- Staff writer (May 6, 2008). "Alice + Olivia's Stacey Bendet expecting first child". People. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- Sarah Michaud (April 10, 2011). "Stacey Bendet Welcomes Daughter Scarlet Haven". People. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- Leon, Anya (22 September 2015). "Stacey Bendet Welcomes Daughter Athena Belle". People. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- http://www.elle.com/life-love/entertaining-design/alice-olivia-designer-stacey-bendet-eisners-new-pad-439138
- Staff writer (May 23, 2011). "Fom 9 to 5: Stacey Bendet". Elle. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- Shanelle Rein-Olowokere and Asher Fogle Paul (February 16, 2011). "Alice + Olivia's Stacey Bendet Debuts Bump at Fashion Week". People. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- http://cfda.com/members#!stacey-bendet
- "Amy Fine Collins Stands Out Amid the Met Gala's Couture Creations". Vanity Fair. May 3, 2011. Retrieved December 27, 2011.
- "Introducing the International Best-Dressed List 2017 Hall of Fame". Vanity Fair. September 7, 2017.