In these, as they say, challenging political and socioeconomic times, it’s certainly hard for designers like Mark Badgley and James Mischka to remain upbeat during the design process—especially given their refined clothes zero in on gala or party dressing, and it can seem like there’s so little to celebrate at the moment. But instead of succumbing to a somber spirit, the designers channeled the mood into their seasonal inspiration for fall, embedding their signature cocktail dresses and gowns with a sense of much-needed power. “With all of this uncertainty in the world, we felt that our customer wants to be really strong and feminine right now,” said Mischka. “And also, she wants to be a little mysterious.”
As usual, Badgley and Mischka looked to a few notable muses who evoked that strength to guide the collection. This season, they cited Eva Perón—the former First Lady of Argentina—and actor Sean Young as their style inspirations. “We love the drive of those two women,” says Badger. “They’re really sharp, have impeccable taste—and they’re not what they appear, either.” Specifically, the designers were also inspired to redefine their uptown frocks fit for swans, reworking them to have a little more severity and sleekness to match their muses. “We landed on a lot of strong shoulders and tailored dresses,” said Mischka.
That appeared in many different forms. Simple cap-sleeved sheath dresses had sculptural elements, like an emerald style with a draped shoulder and ruching. A red strapless dress had the matching shawl cape, wrap-tied around the arms. The looks were impactful, yet shockingly simple for a label that usually leans into frills and bells and whistles. “She feels cocooned in the clothes this season,” said Mischka, “which we felt was important, given what’s going on.”
The designers couldn’t resist adding a bit of excess into the collection, however. For the past few seasons now, they have been working on paring things back—moving away from their signature heady glitz and embellishments—but a little bit of that still shined through. A strapless black gown had gray fathers cascading along the bodice; a navy off-the-shoulder ball gowns featured lace appliqués and bejeweled shoulder straps. Sure, these more brazenly-glamorous pieces may be for a very specific customer, and not to everyone’s tastes (especially not fans of stealth wealth)—but it’s simply within their brand DNA, and it would be a sad show without having that over-the-top touch.
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