Mark Badgley and James Mischka both consider California their home base: they each have family there, and decided to mine something close to home for inspiration. “When we started working on this collection, we were thinking of [the] late ’70s when our families moved to the West Coast.” The nostalgic feeling gave way to a saturated, yet warmer color palette — teal, caramel, berry, blush and terra-cotta — on a classic array of dressed-up polished pieces.
The look: Their go-to classic dress shapes, with a ’60s “dressed-up feel,” done in lighter fabrics that give it an overall easy, modern feeling.
Quote of note: “The mood is a real relaxed elegance,” said Badgley, adding that while the collection delivers in the dead of summer, they wanted to still capture a fall color story.
Key pieces: A sequined green halter dress with tiered ruffles; a teal day dress with short puff sleeves; a pink striped evening dress with matching belt; lace dress with floral appliqué, and a cap-sleeved dress in clay red lace.
Takeaway: A muted color direction gave a fresh take on the dress shapes the duo are known for, perfectly suited for a customer who will undoubtedly have a season full of events. In fact, the duo just had their best month with Neiman Marcus in their 35-year history of business. “[The customer] is shopping, she is out there,” Mischka said.
