Alice + Olivia will open a denim pop-up shop Friday in Manhattan called the Jean Bar. Located adjacent to the existing store at 755 Madison Avenue, the pop-up will feature the latest denim collection, including exclusive styles.
“We’re expanding our Madison Avenue store and have to go through permits to get the construction done and we had this space and nothing in there for a little bit, so we decided we would do this rotation of creative pop-ups, and the first one is the Jean Bar,” said Stacey Bendet, founder and chief executive officer of Alice + Olivia, in an interview Wednesday.
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“It’s supposed to be this creative, fun, denim experience where you can customize, decorate and embroider your jeans,” she said. They will also have one-off jeans that are painted and embellished by artists. “It will be a full-on denim creative experience,” she added.
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Bendet said it’s also an opportunity to see all the denim that Alice + Olivia offers in one place. “Sometimes we feel that denim gets lost in our stores. The Jean Bar is stocked with every style and multiple size. You can come in and try in and play and get them customized and embroidered. It’s really fun and really creative. It’s sort of jean art,” said Bendet.
Denim, which was launched at the inception of the company mostly with novelties, currently accounts for 15 percent of Alice + Olivia’s business. “It’s really grown a lot the last two years. It’s such a denim moment. Girls are wearing jeans and little cropped tops and that’s the vibe right now,” she said.
She said jeans have a big moment whenever there’s a change in proportion or silhouette. “In the last couple of years we’ve seen a huge shift from skinny jeans and high-waist jeans to baggy jeans and low-rise jeans. It’s just a kind of ’90s-themed moment,” she said.
Bendet said if this proves successful “we’ll do these creative pop-ups in different places. It’s kind of like bringing together fashion, art and creativity and just popping up with interesting activations and customizations.” She said it could be used for a collaboration and they create a pop-up experience around it. “It could be pants instead of jeans or it could be sweatshirts. Or it can be a gown pop-up. It’s taking one category at a time and elaborating on it and turning it into a creative experience,” she said.
The Jean Bar will remain open until April 30. In addition to showcasing new products, the pop-up will host weekend activations such as denim customization and styling workshops. Activities such as patch work, embroidery and bedazzling will be available every weekend for creating custom denim looks. Additional activations include matcha carts, hot chocolate, and additional New York City vendors throughout the duration of the pop-up.
When the 1,500-square-foot shop opens on Friday, it will be wrapped in denim, showcasing the brand’s playful and distinctive decor, which is a signature of Alice + Olivia. “We used all deadstock denim to decorate the entire space and the whole space is like an art installation,” said Bendet.
Among the unique denim items and limited-edition pieces are a new colorway of the popular crystal-embellished jeans and luxury one-of-a-kind jackets. The Lovesac x a+o Collaboration will be available for pre-order, showcasing innovative denim designs that merge both brands’ aesthetics.
Twenty-five jeans styles are being featured, and they’re all customizable. There are embroiderers and people doing heatset and artists rotating in to paint jeans.
Asked who the pop-up is aimed at, Bendet said, “It’s mom and daughter.”
In some cases, people can walk out with the jeans immediately, there will be some one-off pieces done every few days by different artists, and customers can work on their own customization which could be done on site, or can be shipped. Women can ask to embroider something fun on the back pocket, or put their initials on, or they may want to patch the entire jean, said Bendet.
Key pieces from the collection include the Harper Super Baggy Jean — Vintage Blue ($350), Olivia Jean — Vanilla ($295), Stacey High Rise Bell — Vintage Light Blue ($350), Vegan Leather Patchwork — Darby Vintage Blue ($495), Remi Slim Bootcut Jean — Vintage Blue (($440), Mindy Tiered Maxi Skirt — Vintage Blue ($440), Trish Embellished Baggy Jean — Chino ($795), and High Rise Double Waistband Cool Jean —Rockstar Blue ($395).
The pop-up will be open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.