Alice + Olivia's NYFW Presentation Was the Fashion Equivalent of 'Let Them Eat Cake' – Latest Fashion Trends & Style Tips February 16, 2026 at 11:56PM
📰 Alice + Olivia's NYFW Presentation Was the Fashion Equivalent of 'Let Them Eat Cake'
✨ Fashion Insights & Trends:
Fashion week lineups typically lead editors to the marbled halls of New York County's Surrogate's Court at least twice per season. This February, however, contemporary womenswear brand Alice + Olivia stood alone.
Other fashion brands had the good sense to avoid the politically charged venue amidst ICE's occupation of Minneapolis, the continued release of the horrific Trump-Epstein files, and the President's ongoing attempts to weaponize the judicial system against his political opponents. But Alice + Olivia founder Stacey Bendet chose to debut her new collection in the belly of the beast.
Photo: BFA
While other fashion shows protested imperialism, celebrated immigrants or featured "ICE OUT" pins, Bendet used her New York Fashion Week presentation to celebrate the ruling class. Dubbed "The Gilded Age," Alice + Olivia's Fall Winter 2026 line centered long velvet coats, crystal-encrusted gowns, brocade capes and Rococo-era corseting.
The collection's title was displayed prominently at the Feb. 14 event, emblazoned in gold on the cover of an eight-foot-tall book. The towering Mark Twain novel acted as a backdrop for Bendet's ornate designs — beneath it, a model lounged atop a pile of fake gold coins. At a neighboring installation, several velvet-clad models posed in front of blood-red Lambeth confections, embodying the phrase "let them eat cake" in the most literal sense.
Photo: Courtesy of Kelsey Stiegman
An instrumental interpretation of Lorde's "Royals" played over the loud speaker as affluent clients milled about the atrium in lavish Alice + Olivia gowns. Beach ball-sized pearls laid across the staircase and miniature desserts were passed around on ornate silver platters, as if to further emphasize the themes of overconsumption. (Even so, thinness was the aesthetic du jour among the brand's chosen models.)
Photos: Courtesy of Kelsey Stiegman
A fashion show celebrating the growing wealth gap would be in poor taste at any venue. Hosted in a government building, however, the theme felt almost intentionally obtuse (even more so than the brand's September presentation, titled "American Woman" and held at the same location). Inviting fashion's elite to a courthouse to indulge in an evening of opulence, while ICE drags document-holding immigrants out of their own court hearings, is a level of cognitive dissonance that's almost unfathomable.
"I've attended two Alice + Olivia presentations before and admittedly they both had a larger-than-life grandiose vibe," says attorney Tashira Halyard, author of the blog Politics and Fashion and co-host of JustUS Podcast. "However, the connection between the theme, location, and the U.S. government at this time can't be denied. There are so many people suffering due to inflation, tariffs, unemployment and persistent income inequality. The optics feel tone-deaf, but on par for this Orwellian time."
Photo: Courtesy of Kelsey Stiegman
This was thrown into harsh perspective immediately upon entering the building. Influencers in platform stilettos sauntered through the mandated metal detector required in all judiciaries to protect legislators and visitors from the U.S.'s ever-present gun violence. As A-listers dumped four-figure designer bags into dingy plastic bins, the reality was clear: In these exclusive rooms, we are protected by scanners and government-employed security guards, while innocent citizens are gunned down by ICE.
While designers like PatBo, Bronx & Banco, Prabal Gurung and Cucculelli Shaheen have all hosted runway shows in municipal buildings over the years — using the resolute interior as a canvas for their wearable art — none have gone so far as to yassify the courthouse itself. Alice + Olivia's decision to do so was darkly reminiscent of President Trump's own White House McMansion makeover.
During his second term, Trump unilaterally ordered the demolition of the East Wing, controversially decorating what remained of the People's House with ostentatious gold filigree fit for a king. This decision goes against nearly 250 years of tradition and the very meaning of the presidential title itself. Until now, White House decor has been kept intentionally humble to signify that the Commander-In-Chief is a civil servant, not a monarch, and is beholden to the American people.
Photo: BFA
Much like Trump's White House, Alice + Olivia effectively turned a functional government institution meant to serve its constituents into a shrine of elitist consumerism. And according to a press release, the brand's choice of venue was an intentional one: "Once known as the Hall of Records, an architectural landmark constructed during the [Gilded Age] is transformed into a larger-than-life cinematic journey through 19th-century opulence and innovation."
In a statement, Bendet elaborated on the inspiration behind her new line, saying: "The Gilded Age was an era of beautiful dressing and also a time of extremes in terms of wealth and industrial development. It feels relevant now. The idea is to take the Victorian elements — opulent embroideries, lace, tapestries and silks — and make them modern."
Photo: BFA
"Relevant" as it is, the Gilded Age is not an era to be celebrated. Though its name evokes thoughts of success and development, this period in American history was also defined by an all-ruling upper echelon who thrived at the expense of working-class Americans. From the 1870s to the 1890s, the lower class was left to starve while the rich and powerful cut their wages to fund extravagant parties, such as this one.
The Gilded Age was America's own version of Marie Antoinette's infamous quote, "let them eat cake." The phrase defined France's era of economic inequality, the Ancien Régime, some 100 years prior. Though they took place a century apart, these two time periods — which inspired Bendet's collection — represent two sides of the same gluttonous coin. Women were property, people of color were second-class, and wealthy white men ruled them all.
This era of oppression is one the Trump administration seems hell-bent on resurrecting. Many political experts have called Trump's second term a new Gilded Age — though, not because of his on-the-nose decor choices. His administration favors economic policies which benefit the billionaire class (of which Trump is now a member, thanks to a memecoin launched days before his inauguration) over everyday Americans.
Experts predict these policies, as well as his self-imposed tariffs, will result in drastically imbalanced economic distribution, much like the original Gilded Age — and America is already seeing the effects. Last November, President Trump hosted an extravagant "Great Gatsby"-themed Halloween party at his own hotel, the same night 42 million Americans lost their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. According to the White House, the theme was "a little party never killed nobody," despite the fact that starvation can absolutely kill.
Photos: Courtesy of Kelsey Stiegman
Halyard says that with "Donald Trump adding a ballroom onto the White House, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas flying on billionaire-owned private jets and the Trump family's continued crypto grift, greed feels ubiquitous right now. And this fashion show appears to be a metaphor for our larger society."
Whether intentional or otherwise, Alice + Olivia's obscene display of ostentatious wealth was a slap in the face to the millions suffering from a modern-day Gilded Age — a raucous party in the Capitol, while the District children fight in the "Hunger Games" arena. From the clothing to the decor, Alice + Olivia's fashion week showcase was a celebration of unapologetic privilege.
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