You can’t keep Mark Badgley and James Mischka down. This year’s unprecedented events have caused the pair to rethink some of their designs, but it didn’t stop them from opening a new retail outpost in Palm Springs. “Maybe people are a little shocked, but women are still buying clothes,” Badgley shared over Zoom. “It’s been a wonderful creative outlet and fun to see firsthand how the clothes are perceived in the shop.”
The need to touch, feel, and experience things informs the duo’s sensory-rich pre-fall collection, which explores texture and pattern in ways best appreciated up close. Whether that means zooming in to see the fringe details on a baby doll dress or running a finger over the intricate beading that adorns the collar of a sapphire silk tunic, the idea of luxury comes through.
Dresses appropriate for at-home entertaining and small gatherings made up the bulk of the collection. Though they were presented via atmospheric look book photos featuring clouds of smoke, it was easy to imagine these pieces being dressed down with the addition of casual accessories. Elizabeth Taylor’s caftan and baby doll dress phases served to inspire a segment; the star’s habit of accenting her looks with fresh flowers, straw purses, and giant diamonds offer some 2021-appropriate styling tips. “We were channeling one of our favorites this season,” says Badgley. “Some of the short pieces, which are so much fun, [reference] her 1960s movies like The V.I.P.s, which is fantastic.
Of course, you don’t have to be a violet-eyed movie star to pull off the look. Lace, jewel tones, and subtle embellishment have universal appeal. That sensibility aligns the designers’ current direction and the pragmatism they’ve seen among their customers—online and off. “It’s intentionally dress driven. I don’t think people are wearing overly tailored clothing; it just doesn’t feel right at the moment,” says Mischka.
