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BADGLEY MISCHKA RAISES THE ROOF: Things were surprisingly calm backstage Saturday night before Badgley Mischka’s runway show, serene even.
There was no yelling or racing to find last-minute safety pins or other safeguards. Melodic music played faintly in the distance, as guests sat cozily at cafe-type tables of three sipping prosecco and waiting for the lights to go down.
Looking tan in navy blazers and white pants, the designers had that just-back-from-vacation look, even though recent days have been working ones. They hinted that the preshow setting was a little more chaotic behind the black curtain, where models were changing into their “Alice in Wonderland”-inspired runway looks. But the designers have experienced far more memorable shows.
Thirty years ago at their first show in SoHo it really felt like the sky was falling. “Unfortunately, the ceiling fell down. We accidentally didn’t realize as young designers that you can’t hang your lighting from a sprinkler system,” Badgley said.
As for their three decades in the industry, he said, “Sometimes it seems like three years and sometimes it feels like 300. It depends on what day you ask us.”
Mischka offered, “Today it seems like 30 exactly.”
Badgley added, “This the craziest business but it’s certainly gratifying. And you never get bored – that’s for sure.”
After posing for a backstage photo, “Empire” actress Ajiona Alexus, wearing a strapless Badgley Mischka multi-tiered dress, returned to her seat. The designers weren’t rattled as the clock ticked down. Badgley said, “We’re trying to make it a bit of a party and not just a nerve-wracking fashion show, so we’ll be fine.”
Out front an attendant asked guests to mind the moss — significant amounts of it were at the base of a dozen or elaborate floral displays accented with handmade Lewis Carroll-like construction paper flowers. Stylists J. Alexander and Ty Hunter, Carmen Electra, Alec Baldwin and his wife Hilaria and Caitlyn Jenner with Sophia Hutchins were among the guests. Jenner wore a Badgley Mischka dress for her defining Vanity Fair shoot in July 2015. Her support staff had indicated she wasn’t doing any “speaking interviews” (as opposed to telepathic ones?). She made an entrance in a short-sleeved gray Badgley Mischka dress and towering heels. And the former Olympian and ex-reality star gamely posed for selfie requests, which were plentiful, and shared a word with more than a few.
All in all, many of the attendees were there for the designers’ milestone. After the green confetti fell from the rafters and the flutes were raised, Alec Baldwin said of knowing Badgley and Mischka, “Doesn’t everybody?”