Stacey Bendet said a vintage Vogue image sent by Lauren Sánchez Bezos guided the set design for Alice + Olivia’s spring 2026 presentation in Manhattan’s Surrogate’s Court.
Bendet, the founder, creative director and CEO of Alice + Olivia, told Alexa that Sánchez Bezos — the pilot, media personality and recent bride — sent a clipping of 10 models in jacquard dresses posed in an elegant blue Gilded Age room and urged her to “recreate this.” The show, staged under the building’s famed double-flight marble staircase in the Beaux-Arts Hall of Records, included a curved vignette based directly on that image.
The designer said the image provided the moment of clarity she needed while planning the tableaux. “I was staring at this set, trying to figure out what to create in the Hall of Records under the staircase,” Bendet said. “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 hundreds of guests attended a buzzy afternoon party that combined cocktails with staged vignettes in the historic building. Models posed in thematic scenes across the space; in one dramatic instance a model portraying Lady Liberty stood on the marble balcony in a spiked crown and holding a torch as a 20-foot floral gown printed with butterflies and roses draped over the entrance.
Bendet wore her signature sparkly headbands and dark eye makeup as she greeted and posed with an array of celebrities and friends, including Brooks Nader, Ashlee Simpson, actress Sarah Pidgeon, Nicky Hilton, Jenny Mollen and members of the Nader family. University of Connecticut basketball players Azzi Fudd and KK Arnold were also in attendance.
Sánchez Bezos did not attend the presentation, but Bendet said the newlywed’s input was invaluable. Sánchez Bezos has been visible across New York fashion events in recent days, attending gatherings such as Chanel’s Sofia Coppola book party, the Kering Foundation Dinner and the launch of 72 magazine, the new title from former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful. “She is so creative,” Bendet said. “She loves fashion and she’ll send things sometimes.”
The collection emphasized a theme Bendet described as the pioneering, fearless American woman. With the United States’ 250th anniversary approaching next year, the designer said she wanted to reflect the intersection of fashion, art, culture and industry across American history. Each set in the presentation represented a different facet of that timeline, from sporty striped looks to elaborate, allegorical couture.
The event at the Surrogate’s Court, a Beaux-Arts edifice known for its marble architecture and double staircase, married theatrical set design with runway presentation, turning the building’s historic features into a stage. Bendet’s recreation of Sánchez Bezos’ vintage Vogue scene was one of several tableaux that anchored the show, which combined the designer’s contemporary silhouettes with historical references and large-scale, sculptural pieces.
Bendet’s comments and the recreated tableau underscore the collaborative and reference-driven nature of contemporary runway presentations, where archival images and personal networks can directly shape production and concept. The spring 2026 collection is positioned as both a commemoration of American histories and an example of fashion’s ongoing dialogue with visual culture.