Badgley Mischka and Pamella Roland show red-carpet-ready razzle-dazzle

NEW YORK CITY — Before most other fashion designers discovered crystals and before the high-sparkle trend re-emerged in U.S. fashion, Mark Badgley and James Mischka were the kings of bling.

The pair’s Badgley Mischka cocktail dresses, gowns and eveningwear at one time had a virtual lock on dressing young starlets. Their frocks had everything essential for red-carpet dazzle: great color, sexy fit, modern flavor, and high-wattage gleam that conveyed wealth, success, and confidence.

Badgley Mischka

Pamella Roland

Well, now it’s 2009 and a season of economic recession. Badgley Mischka has adjusted similarly to other luxury brands by turning out clothing that turns down the wattage on jeweled embellishment and relies more on fabrics with built-in shine and innovative design and tailoring.

The new strategy saves time and money for designers. But the best part, at least for consumers, is that these new looks veer toward being more affordable and less dated. And the clothing, as Badgley Mischka demonstarted here yesterday at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, is still interesting enough to turn heads.

The brand is giving women a lot more stylish options for dressing up next spring and summer: black silk shantung wide-leg pants with a white shantung cap-sleeve, mandarin-collar shirt;  a sleeveless black shantung jumpsuit with a ruffled neck; a salt-and-pepper silk-cotton tweed suit with a belted jacket and dramatic jeweled necklace; an ivory lace and taffeta “clover” dress with a white tank top andd a skirt that moves like a sea of floating petals.

The collection was mainly black, white and ivory. But the duo delivered on color, as well, with a pretty lilac-and-smoke satin chiffon gown with a sparkling criss-cross back and jeweled neckline; a lovely shantung dress with tiered ruffles in a red shade called “pimento” (pictured here); and a sleeveless dress and jeweled cap-sleeve gown in “shocking pink” shantung — both guaranteed to make a dramatic entrance.

Speaking of dramatic-entrance dress, Pamella Roland sent out a breath of fresh spring air in a colorful line of gowns, dresses and separates inspired by renowned arrtist Georgia O’Keeffe. Ms. Roland is one off the best at borrowing menswear looks and translating them into charming styles for women, and she does so for spring with silhouettes that bring to mind couture designs of the 1950’s and ’60’s.

She’s spot on the trends with beading, ruffles and metallics, and her embroidered pieces include oversize floral motifs that pay homage to O’Keeffe’s bright paintings. Some designers find it difficult to balance drape, embellishment and color, but Ms. Roland has a knack for bringing it all together tastefully.

The designer showed 53 looks, more than the average designer, and those ensembles were redacted from a larger pool. We’re glad she didn’t edit it further, although buyers will be in a snit about what to order in coming weeks.

What were some of the most memorable looks? A poppy orange ombre silk-wool cropped pant with a matching bustier festooned with a humongous bow; a hot pink silk wool pantsuit with a crisp white stretch cotton shirt and a big gold purse; a white Lurex tweed trench with matching skinny pant and a large silver handbag; a gold Lurex tweed skirt with a champagne silk organza blouse with jewel buttons; a lemon-honeydew-mint ombre beaded minidress with a cowl back; a white silk faille evening coat with a standing ruffle collar and lapels over a white silk charmeuse gown with crystal beaded trim; and a hotter-than-hot gunmetal-silver-pearl ombre beaded halter jumpsuit with a gunmetal silk-wool trench coat.

Some other spring looks from the runways

Max Azria

Willow

Vera Wang

Halston