Playful! Alice and Olivia does some feel-good fashion

Stacey Bendet, founder and designer of Alice and Olivia, predicts a breath of fresh air this spring.

No gloom and doom for her. The styles she offered up for next season during a preview last week at New York Fashion Week were unabashedly happy, colourful and made to put a smile on the wearer's face - no questions asked.

"I started with the whole concept of going back to the American dream," Bendet said. "I wanted a return to optimism and feeling good."

Basically, Bendet was looking for an excuse to have a party. Where else would one wear a sparkly red-and-white squiggle-pattern bustier and flared miniskirt, or a silver halter dress with an open back and full skirt?

She mined the 1950s and its feminine silhouettes and bright colours for inspiration, so the collection has its share of swinging hemlines and bustiers. There were updates, though, including digital floral prints and a peach leather motocross jacket.

Bendet said she arranged the presentation in a Chelsea gallery space to feature vignettes centreing on doors in primary colours. "I had the thought that when one door shuts, another one opens."

AP Photos