NYFW: Backstage at alice + olivia

Stacey Bendet, designer and founder of alice + olivia presented her newest collection on Saturday at 48 Wall Street in downtown Manhattan. With such an event, there of course were many people working behind the scenes. Here’s what every aspect of prepping for this show looks like.

Hair

Hair lead Matthew Curtis has been working with Bendet and alice + olivia for years. “They’re a great team,” he said. “[I] love the clothes. They’re super wearable and something that I think people can see and admire and aspire to afford to be able to wear.”

Bendet’s inspiration this season came from Truman Capote and his “Swans.” The famous author of the 1958 novella, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” Capote was known for his group of high-society women friends, whom he called his “swans.” He later went on to write an unfinished novel about his experiences with them, entitled, “Answered Prayers.”

“Stacey loves buns,” Curtis said. “She absolutely loves it. It’s easy, it stays in place, it’s wearable, it’s achievable. Anyone can do it, you know. [She] instantly was drawn to that kind of era where they had these big debutante kind of feels.” Armed with Living Proof’s Control hairspray, Curtis created ginormous buns on the models’ hair, accessorized with tiny pearls, bows, and crystals.

In addition to the buns, Curtis also styled a few ponytails. “We’ve got a big deep side part, slight arc, so it’s not so dramatic,” he said. The ponytails were also accessorized with small bows to create a more youthful look.

Makeup

alice + olivia — Photo courtesy by @frankrocco

This season, all of the makeup products used were from Too Faced. Nodding to Truman Capote’s “Swans,” makeup artist Elyse Reneau created a modernized 1960’s look for the models. “It’s all about girl power,” she said. “It’s all about what we’re calling ‘the revenge lip.’ It’s putting on a powerful lip that’s just for you.” Many models sported a blue-toned red that enhanced their natural skin colors while also making their teeth seem whiter and their faces brighter.

alice + olivia also partnered with Pro Lash for their lashes. Founder Haley Chipman was able to work closely with Bendet and Reneau to create the perfect look with the best quality lashes. “This is our first Fashion Week. It’s crazy,” Chipman said. “There’s so many models and they all have different eye shapes. We’ve had to switch out the lashes for almost each person because their eye shape’s different.”

The looks for this season’s presentation not only sported looks created solely by Too Faced but also had a sneak peek of what’s to come for the brand. Reneau added Too Faced’s Kissing Jelly gloss to enhance the lips of the models, a lip gloss and lip oil hybrid that has yet to be released to the public. With flavors such as watermelon and ranging in shades from pink to red, the Kissing Jelly gloss will soon be available for purchase.

Nails

Nails for this season were done by sundays, a nail salon that uses vegan and non-toxic products on natural nails. Founder Amy Ling Lin used pastels and shiny pearl sheens for the models, including a modernized French manicure that strayed away from the traditional white. “I think it’s just so amazing to work with so many amazing brands,” she said. “I feel like it’s such a collaborative environment. Yesterday we did the fitting and it was just super fun.”

Lin worked closely with Bendet to come up with the perfect shade and design for this season’s nails. “Stacey definitely has her own vision. She was very, very clear about what she wanted, like she wanted the pearl to be very posh. She wanted that feminine look, but very empowering and then playful,” she said.

sundays will be opening two new salons in October, one in the East Village, and one in SoHo. They use their own non-toxic formulas, bases, and colors.