admin Photo: Courtesy of Stacey Bendet
Watch the full conversation between Stacey Bendet and our Editor-in-Chief Dhani Mau on The Fashionista Network.
If there’s any one thing to know about Stacey Bendet, it’s that she’s always willing to put in the hard work — ever since the beginning of her career, when she was building the front end of brands’ websites on Flash. She was working within a group that helped start up various labels and, with no design training, got inspired to design novelty pants as a cool alternative to the standard denim that was dominating the market. A patternmaker, a few sewing classes and a self-taught course on fabrics and production later, and the beginning of what has become a fashion dynasty was born.
What started as a pursuit to create the perfect pair of pants became Alice + Olivia in 2002, and has since transformed into a fashion empire with a mission of empowering women. Bendet’s mark on the industry has only continued to grow with the launch of her latest venture, Big Feelings, a sleepwear-meets-streetwear brand with an emphasis on mental health advocacy.
Bendet’s priority is creating products that make a big impact. “Each drop from the Big Feelings brand goes back to a different mental health organization,” she explained during a live chat on The Fashionista Network. (Watch it here!). “(With the brand,) we want it to be clothing that inspires and clothing that brings women together but also clothing that gives back.”
She continued: “We’re not living in a time where you can be silent. There’s so much disruption in the world. I think as a brand owner, founder and creative director, it’s your duty to use that platform and that voice, whether it’s your social media voice or the windows of your stores to really just create some positivity in the world.”
Having been a part of the game for more than 20 years, Bendet has experienced numerous shifts in the industry, from the gradual expansion of digital retail to the mass impact of social media. But no matter what new thing emerges, she’s taken it all in stride. When reflecting on how she’s handled the constant deviations that come with being a part of this industry, she admits that she “drives with a little anxiety” but finds herself to be “the most creative when (she’s) learning new things.”
Bendet’s role as both a creative and industry veteran has left her with plenty of wisdom and insight on what it takes to be an effective boss. While she credits most of the traditional “CEO duties” to her partner Andrew Rosen (her role leans more creative), one of the most important things she’s learned as a boss is to “hire people that are better than you.”
“When you hire people who are better than you, you can do what you do best, and you create a management and leadership structure that is impactful,” she said.
It’s one thing to start a business you’re passionate about with a mission you believe in — it’s another thing to keep said business running successfully, with endless viral hits and continuous celebrity buzz. According to Bendet, the key to longevity can be summarized by these wise key simple words from her pal Paris Hilton: “Never be boring.”
It’s also about passion, hard work and staying true to your brand mission: “For Alice + Olivia, I’ve always said that our brand is just as much about making beautiful clothes as it is about bringing women together and making women feel beautiful in those clothes.”
“With Big Feelings, we’re doing something really similar, in that we want to create a brand that exists to bring young women together — like, to bring mothers and daughters together — with the same concept but in a different way,” she continued. “It allows women to express themselves, how they’re feeling, what they’re feeling and to feel empowered to to talk about that.”
Becoming an entrepreneur is not without a lot of stress and obstacles — but that shouldn’t stop you from trying, Bendet advised.
“When I go through all the ups and downs of business over the years, what got us through so much of it was being resilient, and being open to change,” she said. “But I’m all for supporting women to take the risk and to go out there and go for it because you could succeed or you could fail, but you’ll never regret trying.”
This conversation was hosted on “The Fashionista Network” powered by interactive media platform Fireside, where viewers get the chance to participate and speak directly with industry figures. Learn more about “The Fashionista Network” here.
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