For Spring, Mark Badgley and James Mischka invoked the "timeless glamour" of White Mischief, the 1988 film about aristocratic British expats in colonial Kenya—a group that apparently dressed impeccably while behaving quite badly, particularly when the sun went down. But what better than fashion to wash away the sins of last night? The design duo cast the collection in fresh powdery pinks and icy blues that were nothing short of angelic.
There was a lot going on here, what with three collections—couture, ready-to-wear, and the contemporary Mark & James line—mixing it up on the runway, at times in a single look. But Badgley and Mischka maintained an admirably stylish coherence. You could watch a lacy jacquard strapless column from couture followed by a little linen jacket and silky high-waisted shorts finished with a beaded belt from Mark & James and not feel jolted.
The designers' take on a bubbling-under-the-surface decadence played out in naughty-nice sheer layers and a high-waisted, floppy-hatted seventies look that recalled Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver. (A curious yet surely unintended overlap with last night's Marc Jacobs show.) Meanwhile Badgley and Mischka's backdrop of Africa inspired slightly more crafty embroideries and macramé weaving.
Though those seeking drop-dead dresses—like the sublimely simple, draped one-shoulder gown in mint green—might have found the selection slightly more sparse than usual amid the addition of casual fare, they should rest easy. There are still a few months until awards season.