Alice + Olivia Reintroduces Handbags With Artful Celebration at Stacey Bendet’s Upper West Side Apartment

Stacey Bendet, founder and chief executive officer of Alice + Olivia, welcomed guests into her Upper West Side apartment Thursday night to celebrate the reintroduction of her artful handbag collection.

Bendet said she stopped designing handbags during the pandemic and decided to bring them back this year.

“Every luxury handbag is $7,000, and I wanted to do handbags that are a little piece of art but in the contemporary price point. You can buy a bag to go with your outfit, and it doesn’t have to be a life decision,” said Bendet, whose bags retail from $350 to $650.

Calling the bags “fun and whimsical,” Bendet said they feature embellishments such as bows, high-shine pearls, embroidery and paillettes. Starting Friday, the handbags are being carried in all 32 Alice + Olivia stores in the U.S. and a select number of international doors. Alice + Olivia has 33 international stores.

“My whole thing was the art of the bag. These are little pieces of art,” said Bendet, wearing a long red dress and carrying a matching red Semira Bow Clutch.

The evening, aptly titled, “The art of the handbag,” featured handbags treated as true objects d’art. They were elegantly framed and displayed among pieces from Bendet’s personal art collection, blurring the line between fashion and fine art.

The limited-edition handbag capsule features four statement-making silhouettes inspired by the brand’s spring 2025 “Hotel Imagination” collection. Each bag, that doubles as jewelry, is made to pair back with looks from the season.

Among the bags are the Alicia Shoulder Bag, retailing for $650, which is crafted from a luxe mix of leather and embroidered cotton. The flap silhouette is sized to hold one’s essentials. The Semira Bow Clutch, for example, retails for $550, and comes in butter, bright ruby and pink bloom. The clutch is crafted of vegan leather and is finished with an oversize fabric bow. There is also the Blaire Reversible tote for $350 that is cut from a coated cotton canvas which is patterned with both a blue toile and a toss of blue flowers. And, the Kayla Embellished Clutch, retailing for $595, is a silver box bag covered in high-shine pearls.

During the evening, guests participated in a series of interactive moments centered around the essentials found in a handbag such as personalized lip gloss charms on U Beauty’s glosses, handkerchief embroidery using the same luxe fabric as the collection and custom-bedazzled Touchland hand sanitizers.

A big moment occurred when they cut the cake which was an exact replica of the Samira Bow Bag.

“Stacey is one of my best friends. I’m so happy she is back doing handbags again,” said Nicky Hilton-Rothschild, who was among the guests. “I’ve collected them and have one from the Basquiat collection she did. I love her designs.”

Other guests included Jessica Wang, Emily Rockefeller, Francesco and Alba Clemente, Steven Kolb, Gillian Hearst, Priya Shulka, Rickie De Sole and Janelle Lloyd.

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