Tropical Getaway Fit For a Movie Star Conjured up by Badgley Mischka

NEW YORK — Warmer days tend to bring out the tropical spirit at New York Fashion Week. Oscar de la Renta designers Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia centered their spring 2020 collection on a getaway to the Dominican Republic, the birthplace of the famed designer. And Mark Badgley and James Mischka said they picked Barbados to celebrate “sunshine, white sandy beaches, and breezy afternoons against turquoise water and the chic refinement that is associated with the top-rated resorts in the Caribbean region.”

Specifically, the design duo based their latest Badgley Mischka collection on the Barbados lifestyle enjoyed by Claudette Colbert, the 1930s film star who entertained lavishly at Bellerive, the island’s only plantation house facing the beach. Among the celebrity guests she entertained were honeymooners Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow, Princess Margaret, Lillian Hellman, Slim Keith, and Pamela and Averell Harriman.

“From there we expanded to include all of the fabulous expats that brought elegance in the way they dressed and entertained, from Ian Fleming in Jamaica to the Jaggers in Mustique,” Mischka says.

Certainly, the collection, which is available in Houston at Elizabeth Anthony, recalls a sun-drenched holiday, opening with a series of pantsuits, caftans, and dresses in abstract red and green floral patterns and continuing with striped trousers, floral bralettes, and tropical-patterned jumpsuits. Several looks from their new swimwear line include a high-waisted two-piece suit in tropical colors, a high-neck one-piece floral suit with matching cape, and a skimpy string bikini with a delicate lace cover-up.

The duo excels in lavish evening wear, so it’s no surprise they also created a number of looks more suited for a black-tie gala than a walk on the beach. Among the winners are a slinky tomato red off-the-shoulder gown, a strapless red gown with poofy pink sleeves (red paired with pink is one of the dominant trends for spring), a delicately-shaded lavender gown decorated with colorful brooches, a magenta gown with floral embroidery and a sleeveless high-neck striped gown with jeweled collar.

They also presented glam alternative evening styles that included dusty blue cigarette pants and matching jacket with a metallic sparkle, and a white pantsuit with a gold metallic breastplate blouse.

Mindful of the recent devastation wreaked by Hurricane Dorian, the duo donated 10 percent of all sales of items purchased on the day of the runway show through the Runway by SAP app and BadgleyMischka.com to the American Red Cross.