New York, February 19, 2009 - To celebrate their company’s twentieth anniversary, Mark Badgley and James Mischka created a new fragrance, Badgley Mischka Couture. At an intimate launch at Red Door Spa on Thursday, Mischka explained that they chose the name because couture is the basis of their brand.  With top notes of pear nectar, blackberry and dark plum, the designers say the scent, their third with Elizabeth Arden, is the most voluptuous and sexy of their collection.  The gold metalized bottle is based on a vintage piece of crystal barware; crystal slits evoke a bare shoulder or décolleté. 

The pair is inspired by old Hollywood.  “We know every movie, every old Avedon picture; it’s a constant source of inspiration to us,” Badgley said. 

The inspiration for their fall 2009 collection was sculptural.  “The collection we showed on Tuesday we were kind of inspired by Brancusi sculpture and the whole hard, metalized surfaces of those sculptures,” Badgley explained.  Pre-runway snafus included two left shoes for one model.  “That’s why only one girl in the show had to wear gold shoes.  Everyone else’s were black,” Mischka added.

And they told New York magazine that immediately following their shows, they rush online to see the reviews. (The reviews were glowing - whew!)