Fashion designers Stacey Bendet and Colm Dillane want to bring the energy of Andy Warhol’s Factory back.
Alice + Olivia and Creatively founder Bendet has teamed with KidSuper creator Dillane to build a new KidSuper Studio in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Bendet told Page Six they hope the spot will be a “modern-day version” of Warhol’s Factory.
“So many people leave New York City — not just because of the pandemic — it’s expensive to be an artist here,” she said.
That’s why Dillane is upgrading and expanding his current KidSuper studio to include a state-of-the-art artist-in-residency space plus a design studio, retail store, outdoor yard and recording studio.
The new space will even include a new turf soccer field, we’re told.
“Artists can’t afford to live in Soho now or rent a storefront there. When people didn’t have to be in the city — more and more creatives picked up and left for places where they could have more space and less expensive living,” Bendet said.
“If you can create these ‘Factory-like’ experiences where creatives feel like [they] have a home, you’ll start to bring that creative energy back to the city,” she added.
The Factory was Warhol’s famed studio and hangout that was housed in three different NYC locations between 1962 and 1984.
Dillane operated his KidSuper clothing brand out of a South Williamsburg storefront that also doubled as his living quarters in 2013. Bendet’s Creatively company helped him find new digs at a 10,800-square-foot warehouse in Williamsburg.
“[Colm] is so authentic. It brings me back to when I created Alice + Olivia… It’s really inspiring to watch him evolve and grow. I love seeing people with passion,” Bendet said.
The new KidSuper community center launches in February 2022.