Heads Up, L.A.: Badgley Mischka Arrives in Force
Some fashion designers know they’ve hit the big time when their clothes land in top stores, magazines and on hot celebrities. But New York evening wear designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka add another marker to that list.
“We chart the pronunciation capabilities of our name as time goes by,” said Mischka, the blond half of the team Badgley Mischka (BADGE-lee mish-KA). The designers spent the first half of their 12-year career championing the merits of undiluted elegance while explaining that Badgley Mischka was a duo, not an odd Russian artist with a penchant for satin, sequins and beads.
By this fall, Badgley and Mischka will have two more rewards for surviving the grunge and minimalist years: a boutique on Rodeo Drive and the command of L.A’s major fashion fund-raiser, the AIDS Project Los Angeles charity ball. When the 39-year-olds visited Los Angeles recently to preview event locations, they appeared, as always, ready to step onto the ballroom floor. With their perfectly groomed hair, antique cuff links and polished Prada loafers, the designers are the Ken to their oh-so-elegant Barbie clients.
Their living doll customers, from Ashley Judd and Winona Ryder to Jennifer Lopez and Melanie Griffith, have made Badgley Mischka a favorite among fans of simple glamour. Unmoved by fashion’s embrace of grunge and heroin chic, the team’s profile grew as they promoted chic heroines, the kind Hollywood hadn’t seen in years.
In the early ‘90s, celebrity stylists such as Philip Bloch wanted to rescue stars from “the over-opulence of the ‘80s and the boringness of the ‘90s,” two trends the designers had avoided.
“Then it became about glamour again,” said Bloch. Their clothes became a top pick for stars at the Oscars, Emmys and Tony award shows. “They were there with it. They were really right place, right time.”
Badgley Mischka, like many designers, had offered clothes to some attendees of this year’s Oscars, but none wore their label, which they said was “very disappointing.” They are a victim of their own success, said Bloch, who said overexposure is the side effect of “having too many gorgeous gowns.”
Yet the duo is poised for a high-profile return when their boutique opens in September and again in November, when they strut their new stuff at the APLA show. As the event’s hosts, the designers will not only re-create their upcoming Spring 2001 New York show in Los Angeles, but they’ll also design the entire event--from tablecloths to selecting the location. They recently spent two days here touring old movie houses, department store tearooms, studio lots and more in search of an imaginative setting that can comfortably seat 1,200.
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When the curtain finally rises on the APLA show, audiences will see that Badgley Mischka isn’t just about the beautiful beaded gown anymore. For more than two years, the designers have created clothes that work as well in the sunshine as under the spotlight--looks that match fashion’s new laid-back glamour. Now sleek leather pants, luscious turtlenecks and simple cashmere coats declare the team’s softer focus.
The boutique, their first anywhere, will amplify their new message and become what Mischka called “a sort of testing ground for new products.” They will also be closer to their top customers.
“We had a strong customer base here, and it’s such an important market for us,” said Badgley.
“And people often think we are based in L.A.,” said Mischka. “Maybe it’s because of all the celebrities we dress.”
Mischka also said the store could become a West Coast headquarters where the designers can build Asian accounts, offer special orders and gauge customer acceptance of their new collections. And while local stores that also carry their line, such as Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue, have often focused on “big event” clothes, Badgley said the new boutique will feature clothing that blends into the broader L.A. style landscape.
As the latest New York fashion designers to head West, Badgley and Mischka are working on familiar territory. Both have family in Southern California: Badgley’s mother, Marjorie Badgley, is in Palm Springs, and his twin sister, actress O’Hara Fottrell, is in L.A. Mischka’s father Carl lives in Newport Beach and his mother, Judith Becker, resides in Palos Verdes. Mischka, who was born in Wisconsin, spent his early elementary school years in Malibu. Badgley was raised in Oregon but moved down the coast for two semesters at USC.
In 1982, both had uprooted to study fashion design at the Parsons School of Design in New York, where they met. Six years later, they had built a business in men’s and women’s evening wear but abandoned the men’s line when the women’s became more successful. Someday, they said, they will get back to those menswear beginnings, perhaps develop a fragrance and possibly open boutiques in New York and Palm Beach. For now, they’re concentrating on Los Angeles, one of their longtime favorite cities.
Their affection for Hollywood has influenced the design of their three-story, 3,600-square-foot boutique. Badgley likened its silvery, updated Art Deco mood to a “cinematic experience.” Inside they’ll display their new, all-hours approach to dressing.
“We have a new shoe collection, handbags and collections for day, cocktail and evening,” Badgley said. “So it was enough of a lifestyle brand to support a boutique.”
The designers got the chance of a lifetime when their parent company of the last eight years, Escada, closed its Escada Sport store on Rodeo Drive, putting sibling Badgley Mischka first in line for the next lease. The Beverly Hills store is a major undertaking as the top spots on the street are notoriously expensive and often hard to find. The store will be in good company with nearby neighbors Tiffany, Cartier, Valentino and Christian Dior.
The location, along with the line’s new look, should help Badgley Mischka win new customers who never need a ball gown, but perhaps a couple of sporty-but-elegant pieces to incorporate into a wardrobe.
“Separates are an important category for us, especially in L.A.,” said Badgley, “because people do a lot of entertaining at home.”
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Upstairs, celebrities, stylists and other VIPs will be able to see the dressier Badgley Mischka collection--privately if necessary. Two secluded dressing areas have been designed into the third floor, home to their nearly 3-year-old bridal collection and trademark beaded gowns.
As much as the designers are focusing on L.A., they haven’t yet considered buying local real estate, unlike some other designers with Hollywood followings, such as Gucci’s Tom Ford and Randolph Duke. Badgley is busy spending his weekends in Palm Beach, riding his horses in hunter-jumper competitions (he has many ribbons, according to Mischka).
The lure may be harder to resist for his partner, who is sometimes teased about looking like a Malibu surfer.
“Every time I come here, I fall in love with it all over again,” Mischka said. “If we didn’t have to be in New York for our business, I’d be here.”
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Valli Herman-Cohen is at valli.herman-cohen@latimes.com.
