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Badgley Mischka

Mark Badgley was born in Est St. Louis, Illinois, U.S.A. on January 12, 1961. He was raised in Oregon; studied business at the University of Southern California until 1982. He then went to school at the Parson School of Design, New York and graduated there in 1985. From 1985 to 1988 Badgley designed for Jackie Rodgers and Donna Karan.

James Mischka was born in Burlington, Wisconsin, U.S.A. on December 23, 1960. He studied at Rice University, Houston, Texas, where he graduated in 1982 with a degree on Management and Art History. He then proceeded to Parson School of Design, New York, where he graduated in 1985 with his future partner Mark Badgley. Mischka designed for Willi Smith, New York from 1985-1988.

The two formed Badgley Mischka Company in 1988 and it has been financed by Escada U.S.A. since 1992.

Spring 2000

Womenswear by Badgley & Mischka

A touch of flash and a pinch of vintage come together in extraordinary fashion for Mark Badgley and James Mischka, who design some of the hottest looks in evening wear for women.

Some might guess that Badgley Mischka is a Russian ballerina. Sounds like it. But as most of the ladies of Hollywood , New York, Palm Beach and points between know, Mark Badgley and James Mischka are two 38-year-old American designers, who in the last few years, have captured the evening wear scene with their slinky gowns of extravagantly feminine beading, lace, printed fabric, cut velvet and satin. Especially the beading.

Since the night of the Emmys in 1995, when Teri Hatcher wore Badgley Mischka and the Oscars presentation in 1996, when Winona Ryder also wore one, the designing team has become the darling of Hollywood celebrities. Besides Hatcher and Ryder, a host of other actors including Sharon Stone, Mira Sorvino, Ashley Judd, Cameron Diaz and Jessica Lange have chosen the duo's designs.

Badgley and Mischka - both coincidentally clad in black turtlenecks and pants - are talking to me (Leslie Aldridge Westoff, red.) today from their Seventh Avenue design studio, which is cluttered with fabric bolts, mannequins, beading samples, large mirrors and a smashing view of Manhattan. As they work together, they talk together, and who says what is unimportant. "Just cut it down to the middle and attribute half to me and half to him," one of them says.

Their style, which has captured so many hearts, is quite distinctive. The quality of the dresses is no accident. "We have lots of funny little processes we use to age our raw materials so our clothes don't look new or manufactured," they explain. "We love anything that has a little bit of vintage or history to it. The silhouette is streamlined and modern, and yet nothing seems too new or plastic or stamped-out looking."

"We soak the beads in drano to give them an edge. We put things trough the washing machine a million times. We've been known to put them in the dishwasher if it adds a little bit of history and an aged finish."

Why do they strive for this "aged" look? "There's an element of fantasy and romance about clothes that are not brand new, something you could have found in the best vintage store on the planet and the stuff is in perfect condition."

"Women's lives have become so practical by day that it's almost a uniform they wear from 9 to 5, and what we offer is something that's sort of special and fun and fantastical. We strive to do clothes that are elegant and glamorous." When Badgley and Mischka design, it is for someone who is very knowledgeable about fashion. "It's got to be a woman who is not afraid to dress up," they say. "She has to love clothes and love getting dressed." Their look is remeniscent of the 1920s, '30s and '40s, when movie stars were the style icons of the country.

Badgley Mischka evening gowns are especially opulent. The innovative fabrics are made in Italy and embroidered in Bombay, India, where the designer team keeps 200 busy sewing their fabulous beads by hand. One dress might have as many as 65,000 beads, crystals and paillettes (they don't count them, they weigh them) on it and take as long as several months to make. Hence, prices range up to $7,000 for a major creation. Sometimes a gown might have as many as 24 different fabrics in it, layers upon layers, embroidery blending into the printed fabric in a mystical blur of grandness. Lots of the gowns also have trains. Some women love them, some don't. The wearer may be uncomfortable negotiating stairs, walking or dancing, but the trains can be "chopped off" during alterations.

Badgley and Mischka use very "distinctive" complexion shades. "We love colors that are sort of unindentifiable," they explain. "Is it silver?... Is it pale green?... Is it like an antique metallic? It's memories of colors. Not strong colors. We like soft antique colors."

They have been known to combine vastly different looks, such as showing a beaded, metallic lace gown, with a herringbone wool coat. A mix of luxury and sport in one outfit.

"From time to time we disagree. This is a very emotional, creative business, but fortunately we are both capricorns, so we haven't killed each other yet. This business pulls you in a lot of different ways and we find there's so much to accomplish on a daily level that we have to be there more for each others' support than go after each other."

This was their thinking when they decided to open a business together after meeting at the Parsons School of Design. They would join forces rather then compete. As for a name? They realized Badgley Mischka was "a mouthful, but nothing else seemed right, so we just went with our names."

Back to the future, I asked where fashion is headed. "It's either going to be very casual or very dressy," they explain. "There's not as much in the middle as there used to be."

Article from: Palm Beach Illustrated, 1999

Badgley Mischka
525 Seventh Avenue
New York, NY 10018
U.S.A.