Dark, rich red was the start of their Fall 2015 collection according to James Mischka, one half of design duo of American fashion house Badgley Mischka.
Badgley Mischka’s regal take on the golden age of Hollywood
The color, Mischka explained, was inspired by “Blood and Sand,” a 1941 Hollywood classic starring Tyrone Power, Linda Darnell and Rita Hayworth.
“We started with the movie called ‘Blood and Sand’ a Tyrone Power movie from 1941, a bull fighting movie. It’s all about the seething passions, the sensuousness the Latin passion of that movie is what’s inspired so much,” Mischka said.
“It was an early Technicolor movie. Everything looks like it is out of a black velvet painting, with a black background and the colors coming luminously out of the painting. That is what we are inspired by for the colors,” he added.
The glamorous collection had sexy cocktail dresses in shimmering fabrics and exquisite jacquard, to classic tweed pieces in plaid. The evening section showcased figure-hugging gowns in shimmering mustard and teal, as well as the finale gown in regal gold with an attached flowing cape. With their creations a favorite of present-day Hollywood stars, some of their gowns are sure to be seen on the Oscar red carpet on Sunday (February 22).
It is not the first time the design pair looked at old Hollywood for inspiration. The duo cited “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” from 1935 as their inspiration for their Spring 2013 collection, while for Fall 2013 they said that Alfred Hitchcock’s femme fatale was their muse.
This season the designing-duo tried to achieve that look with the use of exquisitely decorated fabrics.
“The fabrics are very ornate. There is no jewelry this season, all the jewelry is actually in the fabrics. It’s either woven into the fabric or applied on top of it with our beading.”
The old Hollywood look was completed by a Brigitte Bardot-like beehive and matching leather gloves and clutches.
Fashion week in New York will continue until February 19.