Stacey Bendet creates a 'field of dreams' at NY fashion week

NEW YORK (AP) - Stacey Bendet, creative director of Alice + Olivia, created a dreamscape in color on nine monochrome backdrops as models posed Monday for a presentation at New York Fashion Week.

"It's all about color - pastels mixed with brights, dramatic sleeves, big volume skirts and lots of beautiful structured tailoring," she said. "I dream in color."

Guests, including Sofia Richie, roamed through to view the models amid a field of lilacs, a sky of pink clouds and a pristine kitchen in mint. Richie made an appearance all in white, wearing a tank top and shorts underneath an oversized blazer.

"I've always tried to be myself with fashion," she said. "I've always tried to express myself through fashion. I feel like being yourself is very important."

Models posed in the lilac field had lavender braided into their hair and wore dresses with sequined floral designs. On a bright orange stage, the models posed in black and white while bright orange teddy bears were strewn around them.

Suki Waterhouse was also among the guests, dressed in a white silk halter with low-slung satin trousers.

In another of Bendet's dreamscapes - a powder blue stage - a bakery display case was set up with matching candy, macaroons and pastries. Models wore pops of electric red, from a leafy detail on a blouse to a baroque pattern on a dress with billowing sleeves.

Elsewhere, one long skirt included a pattern of figures resembling Bendet's likeness in a floral scene.

"To me, color is like therapy," she said. "When you're in the right color for you, when you walk into a room that's all decorated in beautiful colors, it really uplifts."