At the 35-year mark in business, Mark Badgley and James Mischka celebrated at Delmonico’s with the help of former models, socialite friends, businesswomen, “big customers” and industry supporters. That inner circle wasn’t just invited to Wednesday’s presentation — they were decked out in Badgley Mischka dresses. Air kisses abound, as guests circulated past five vignettes showing the designers’ pastel gowns and vibrant dresses. Many attendees hovered around the bar and others trailed waiters serving martinis and hors d’oeuvres.
The setting was storied, too — dating back to 1837 Delmonico’s was the first fine dining restaurant in the U.S. Many of the guest models have been loyal front-rowers at Badgley Mischka runway shows. They also understand the art of mingling — including Muffie Potter Aston, Arriana Boardman, Patricia Begley, Christine Currence, O’Hara Fottrell, Alexandra Dillard, Bonnie Milligan and Somers Farkas. Jaqui Lividini was also on the scene, wearing a sleeveless white ruffled evening dress, as was Rosanna Scotto. Ditto for model Coco Mitchell in an embellished navy gown. Deciding who-wore-what was hard, but the designers used instinct and sizing as a guide, according to Badgley. That approach was in line with something he told WWD in a 1990 interview: “The important thing is to strike a balance between what a customer wants and what a customer can wear.”
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In a glittery lavender dress and boa, Frederique van der Wal, who was always one of Badgley Mischka’s favorite models, said, “It felt wonderful because there was a celebration in the air. Everybody wanted to be here. It wasn’t a job. They love James and Mark. They love the brand and the clothes. It’s a happy occasion and celebrating something glamorous.” Having hit the runway for Badgley Mischka in the late 1980s and mid-’90s, van der Wal did a livestream walk-through for a fashion outlet to highlight some of the outfits and describe what it felt like to wear the clothes.
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She also added some design input — asking for a deeper scoop-front — after being shown a few options to wear for Wednesday’s presentation. “And they did. They also listen to women,” van der Wal said.
Having recently modeled with her non-model “but very beautiful” daughter Scyler for Eve Lom, van der Wal, a former Victoria’s Secret model, said she plans to watch the Apple TV+ docuseries “The Super Models,” since “a lot of them were colleagues” and she knows some of the producers. Referring to this month’s British Vogue cover featuring Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista and Christy Turlington, she said, “I love these girls. I love that Vogue says, ‘Let’s celebrate women in their 50s.’ But why retouch that much? I know most of the girls did not like that. If we’re going to embrace diversity, meaning also age, could we not show it a little bit?” she said. “When we were in the time of the supermodels, it was wonderful. But what is the message that is going to come across with the documentary? We will have to see.”
After the presentation, the hired models unintentionally created a second act for passersby, as they lined up on the sidewalk wearing evening gowns in the fading daylight for individual portraits. Longtime Badgley Mischka frontman Rob Caldwell bowed slightly, “Ladies, thank you for doing this. It’s 35.”