Badgley Mischka returns control to founding designers

Badgley Mischka at NYFW, spring/summer 2016

Fashion brand Badgley Mischka has bought back the rights to its label from owners Iconix Brand Group for a reported $16 million in cash.

Designers Mark Badgley and James Mischka founded the label 27 years ago, and with the purchase will take back control of the brands’ dealings for the first time in more than a decade. The purchase is a joint venture with footwear licensee Titan Industries Inc. and apparel licensee MJCLK LLC.

Return to control
Over the nearly 30 years of the brand, Badgley Mischka has become known for its gowns, often worn by actresses such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Kate Winslet and Julia Roberts on the red carpet.

The designing duo met and established the label in the late 1980s after attending Parsons School of Design in New York together.

While Badgley Mischka performed well under Iconix, the founders plan to expand the brand even further under their control. In the future, Badgley Mischka plan to revive its jewelry and fragrance lines as well as open more boutiques in addition to its Beverly Hills, CA flagship.

In a statement given to WWD, Mr. Badgley said, “We have had a productive 11 years working with the Iconix team to build Badgley Mischka from its red-carpet origins to a full lifestyle luxury brand.

Badgley Mischka spring/summer 2016 presentation at New York Fashion Week 

Mr. Mishcka added, “It’s really been our quest to own the brand again and control all the nuances that go into a business today. We missed a lot of those things and making certain decisions.”

In recent years, large luxury conglomerates or holdings firms have scooped up smaller labels with the intention to spur growth and higher profits.

For example, French fashion house J. Mendel boosted its expansion capabilities with the addition of new majority shareholder Stallion, Inc.

The new investor joins the existing shareholder Giles Mendel, the creative officer of the label and fifth generation family member, who is retaining a sizeable stake in the company. Increasingly, family-owned luxury brands are turning to outside investors to help them remain competitive in a global luxury business (see story).

Similar to the case of Badgley Mischka, footwear label Brian Atwood bought back its intellectual property and related assets from The Jones Group with help from Steve Madden.

With the new partnership, Steve Madden has a majority ownership of Brian Atwood and will operate the brand’s production, marketing and customer service. Even though this is Steve Madden’s first foray into luxury ownership, Brian Atwood’s luxury status will likely remain uncompromised (see story).

from Luxury Daily » Apparel and accessories http://www.luxurydaily.com/badgley-mischka-returns-control-to-founding-designers/
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