Alice + Olivia for Payless

In keeping with the ever-growing cheap-chic trend, the latest designer to announce a new low-cost line for the masses is Stacy Bendet of Alice + Olivia. bendet will be pairing with Payless to deisgn a line of shoes to be available in 2008, which will be sold in both Payless stores and Alice + Olivia boutiques. Interesting, since most cheap-chic lines have rarely, if ever, been sold at the designer's own boutique also. Says Matt Rubel, CEO and president of Payless, "Stacey is a fabulous talent with a retro, fun and flirty style perfect for today's contemporary girl. Her design aesthetic will complement well with our current designer collections, and we look forward to bringing Stacey's first footwear designs to shoppers across America."

I love Alice + Olivia dresses, so I personally think Stacy Bendet's contributions to footwear will be awesome. Rubel is right about Stacy being a fabulous, unique talent- and I think Payless has made an excellent decision in choosing Stacy Bendet. She even once said in an interview with New York Magazine, that she loves designing clothes, but "What I'd really like to do is footwear!" Expect big things from this collection - debuting in 2008.