Stacey Bendet Eisner (born October 1977)[1] is an American fashion designer, founder, CEO, and creative director of Alice + Olivia,[1] a contemporary clothing company based in New York City. She is also the founder of Creatively,[2] a networking platform for the creative industry, co-Founder of BIGFEELINGS, a sleep-to-streetwear concept, and co-founder of the #ShareTheMicNow movement.[2][3]
Early life and education
Bendet was born in 1978 to Olivia (née Bendet) and Joseph Daniel Wiener.[4][5][6] Bendet is of Jewish heritage[7] and had a traditional 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[6] and studied international relations and French at the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1999.[12][13][14]
Stacey Bendet is the CEO and Creative Director of the brand alice + olivia and the co-Founder of BIGFEELINGS, a sleep-to-streetwear concept.[3][15]
Career
alice + olivia
In 2002, Bendet founded Alice + Olivia.[16] Bendet proposed a jeans-style cut slim at the hip to create the illusion of elongated legs and a lean silhouette.[17] Designer Lisa Kline noticed her walking by and ordered 20 sets of pairs,[9] which provided an opportunity for Bendet to launch a collection based around that concept at the Russian Tea Room.[17] 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 collection that features ready-to-wear gowns, shoes, tech accessories, and handbags.[18]
In March 2022, Stacey Bendet and tech entrepreneur Randi Zuckerberg teamed up to make the NFT and the Web3 economy accessible to all women. Alice + olivia is offering a limited edition NFT — an animated digital avatar of the Stace Face 20th Anniversary rainbow print, which gives priority access to an exclusive online course from Zuckerberg, taught on the Creatively website.[19]
In April 2022, Stacey Bendet transformed several of the prints from Alice + Olivia’s Spring 2022 collection into the line for Tempaper (a brand of removable wallpaper).[20]
Creatively
In 2020, she founded and launched Creatively,[2] a networking platform for the creative industry.[21] In April 2021, Creatively raised in $5 million.[22]
In March 2022, Creatively raised $8M in funding. The round was led by Thirty-Five Ventures, Rich Kleiman, Link Ventures, Tornante Company, and entertainment lawyer Kevin Yorn.[23]
In 2023, In partnership with CULTURED, Creatively announces plans to launch its inaugural digital and experiential event, CreativelyCultured, honoring over 100 creatives discovered on the platform.[24]
#ShareTheMicNow
Also, in 2020, Bendet co-founded an Instagram campaign called #ShareTheMicNow[25] to bring African-American women's voices to the forefronts of predominately white women's Instagram accounts in an "account takeover" format.[26]
Incidents
In 2018 Stacey Bendet’s company filed a lawsuit against the Steve Madden-owned Betsey Johnson label for copyright and trademark infringement. Alice + Olivia accused Betsey Johnson of using Bendet’s signature face, the "StaceFace," on its bags.[27][28]
Bendet has appeared on the Vanity Fair Best-Dressed list four years in a row and is in the Best-Dressed Hall of Fame.[34][35]
She is a member of the board of trustees of the New York-based GOOD+ Foundation, a foundation that provides essentials for children of families in need. She supports Ronald McDonald House, which offers assistance to the families of children suffering from life-threatening illnesses, and she is also a member of the board of the Jay H. Baker Retailing Center of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater.[36]
Bendet is an Advisory Board member at her alma mater’s Baker Retailing Center within its Wharton School.[37]
^James, Mimi (August 16, 2012). "The Luxe Starts Here". Jewish Exponent. here was another flavor of "new pant," this one from Alice + Olivia's designer Stacey Bendet Eisner, the nice Jewish girl and Penn grad.